April 22, 2008 -- My old mentor, Bill Carow, used to tell me this story about a mathematician who, observing a calculation written on a blackboard during a conference, stood and declared, “I see the hand of Newton,” and the great mathematician and scientist, had indeed inspired the equation. Likewise, discerning movie fans will no doubt see the hand of Judd Apatow (“The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Superbad” and “Knocked Up”) in this film, even though his name is buried further down in the credits. Apatow didn't write or direct “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” but he did produce it and his fingerprints are all over it.

Like those earlier Apatow films, this is a vulgar romantic comedy with heart, along with a liberal dose of obscenities, full frontal nudity and sex scenes. Jason Segel of “Knocked Up” (who also wrote the screenplay) stars as Peter Bretter, a musician who composes scores for a CSI-like TV show starring his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell of the TV series “Heroes”). When Sarah dumps him in favor of a rock star, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand of “Penelope”), Peter goes into a serious funk. His brother, Brian (Bill Hader of “Superbad”), advises Peter to take a vacation. He heads off to Hawaii. When he arrives, he finds that Sarah and Aldous Snow are staying in the same hotel. Awkward encounters happen often enough to keep the comedy coming. Peter falls in love with a pretty local girl, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis of “Boot Camp”). Soon, he finds that he has to make up his mind.

The local scene in Hawaii is peopled with plenty of colorful characters, including two Apatow alumni, Jonah Hill (“Superbad” and “Knocked Up”) and Paul Rudd (“Knocked Up”) who plays a wasted surf instructor. There is also an opinionated bartender (Davon McDonald) and a couple of newlyweds with sexual problems who receive help from an unlikely source. There is a hilarious promo for a new television show about a detective who can communicate with animals through telepathy. There is also a very funny bit about a puppet vampire musical.

All this adds up to a pretty funny comedy, but that's not all. It also has heart and a nice message about following your bliss and believing in yourself. There is also some real pain on display after Peter's girlfriend dumps him after a five year relationship. His pain is played for laughs, but the pain seems real. This helps set up a later scene between Peter and Sarah which shows how Sarah is able to manipulate him because she knows he still has those feelings for her. Just because it is comedy, it doesn't mean it can't have a lot of emotional truth in it. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2008 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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