Merrick here...


Bravado, who has reviewed for us before, sent in this look at FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL...which opens on April 18.


Here's what he had to say...

Well, my last little mini-review of Hancock was a bit of a travesty with people yelling "Plant! Plant! Plant!". So, here's a little review of a recent screening I attended of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Judd Apatow has produced/directed some of the funniest movies in the past few years, most recently The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad, just to name a few. The 40 Year Old Virgin was one of the funniest movies I'd seen in a while. That movie was the benchmark for me for any film Judd Apatow is affilated with. Knocked Up didn't disappoint but I felt it just wasn't as good or as funny as The 40 Year Old Virgin. Superbad for me was...well...superbad. I didn't get it. Judd didn't write it or direct it, which probably explains why it wasn't as good.

So now we come to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, another film that Judd Apatow acts as a producer but doesn't write or direct. The result? A funny ass movie that in some ways rivals Judd's own films.

In most cases, when the writer of the screenplay is also the star of the film it usually ends up being a better film. Such is the case with Jason Segel. This guy has great comedic sensibilities...not to mention he has some balls...literally! (once you see the movie you'll understand) He makes you laugh even in scenes that are somewhat serious in nature. Now, this isn't a stroke of genious. The plot is pretty much the same-ole, same-ole shtick: Guy has hot famous girlfriend. Girl dumps guy. Guy ends up on same beach as girl. Guy finds new girl. The difference is that Jason actually manages to find something fresh with it.

I've been through a really hard break-up with an ex-girfriend. Muck like Jason's character, Peter, I was in a relationship with someone that lasted 5 years. The break-up was perhaps the lowest point in my life. Boy oh boy did I ever go through a depression. So I know what it's like. As such, I think that's what made this movie so damn funny for me. The things Jason Segel makes fun of is so obvious and hilarious to anyone who has (or knows someone who has) a major break-up.

Although Jason Segel obviously gets the most attention in the movie, the rest of the cast really helps drive the movie along. Without them, I doubt the movie would have been as good. I've always been kind of annoyed with Kristen Bell, but I have to admit she did great in this movie. Just like her role in Heroes, the fact that she's annoying to begin with helps in making her character more believable. Never seen or knew who Mila Kunis (Rachel) was before this movie. She did a good job and helped create a good chemistry with Jason's character...nothing more. Bill Hader has a few really funny moments in the movie but definitely isn't as memorable as Jason Segel. However, having Bill Hader there definitely helps in that he bounces things off of Jason pretty good. A couple of other supporting cast members from other Judd related movies make an appearance: Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd. Jonah was ok. He had a few moments in the movie but he did his job in keeping things going. Paul definitely had a few moments that were absolutely hilarious. Did a great job playing a guy who obviously has some serious memory issues due to doing too much pot.

In the end, I loved the movie. It's definitely on par with The 40 Year Old Virgin, in some ways it's even funnier. Much like Steve Carrell, there's something very genuine with Jason Segel. Time will tell if Jason will be able to follow up with another movie that's as funny as this one. I hope he does.

L8R!

Bravado