#80 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a well-written romantic comedy about a guy, Peter Bretter, who has just had the news dropped on him that his girlfriend of five and a half years is not only dumping him, but has been cheating on him for a year. To try and move on, Peter vacations to a resort in Hawaii; however, his plans go awry when his ex, Sarah Marshall, is vacationing there as well...with her new lover, famous rock star, Aldous Snow. He befriends a woman working at the resort, Rachel, and they hit it off. Within four days, Peter has fallen for Rachel and almost completely removed Sarah from his mind. When Aldous dumps Sarah, she tries to win back Peter - and even ropes him into fooling around with her. Right in the middle of their attempt to have sex, Peter has a bit of an issue. He can't get it up. This makes him realize that he no longer loves Sarah, he loves Rachel. He comes clean with Rachel, but she doesn't forgive him. He leaves the resort, thinking he will never see Rachel again. This causes Peter to get his life back on track: realizing he screwed up with Rachel. He finished writing his rock opera, Dracula, and sends an advertisement for it to Rachel in Hawaii. She attends the performance, and Peter and Rachel rekindle their romance. Happy ending.
Let me start off by saying that Jason Segel is my hero. He is such a genius when it comes to writing music, writing a screenplay, and putting it all together with a little bit of puppetry. Without his vision and love for Jim Henson's muppets, The Muppets (2011) would've never come to fruition. And for that, sir, I tip my hat to you. Forgetting Sarah Marshall may not have a lot of laugh out loud moments, but it's a super well-written script. His character, Peter Bretter, develops so immensely throughout the film. To leave a relationship behind you and move on is tough, but he does it, and he does it with grace. He kicks his life into gear and creates a successful stage production - something that his ex-girlfriend discouraged on a daily basis. He establishes new friendships when he's visiting in Hawaii, and he even finds romance. Peter's character is the dude that all guys pull for when they hear their buddy got dumped by some chick. The way that his friends at the resort rally behind him and help him get over Sarah is golden.
I think I like this movie so much because it has a cast of some of my favorite actors and actresses EVER. Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, and Jonah Hill are good in everything they're ever cast in. Put them all together, and you have an all-star cast. Then to find out that Jason Segel wrote the entire thing, that makes it 1,000 times better. I also like the casting choice of Russell Brand as Aldous Snow. He is just the right touch of annoying to make the audience feel sympathetic for Peter - they automatically root for the underdog. In one scene, Sarah tries to pin it all on Peter - saying that she tried therapy and counseling to fix their relationship, but did she ever make Peter aware of this? No. I believe that Peter is the type of guy that would have done absolutely anything to save his relationship with Sarah. If she wanted him to go to therapy with her, he would have. To me, it seemed that Peter thought his life and relationship with Sarah was perfect, so why would he even suspect anything was wrong? That's why watching Peter come apart for the first half of the film is so heartbreaking. I've been there, and I know exactly how it feels. Jason Segel does an amazing job of portraying the agony that Peter must be feeling. The audience cheers when Peter finds love with Rachel. I mean, really, what was wrong with Sarah? How do you look at this face and not automatically love it?
Overall, do I think this is the best comedy of all time? No. But do I think it's a fantastically written movie with a great cast? Yes.
And one more thing...can we please make Dracula the Musical a real-life thing? Thanks.
I give Forgetting Sarah Marshall 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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