Much better than expected

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2008)

Although the movie has some of sophomoric humor you would expect from this kind of premise and this group of movie makers, it actually surprises you with some stylish humor in its design that bears some (dare I say it?) originality.
First, it's written with more attention to character study than is customary in these types of comedies. The writer gave them depth, and concocted them with strategic flaws, quirks, strengths, etc., so that their contrasting personalities would collide and bounce off each other with humorous results. The rock star new boyfriend (Russell Brand) of Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) in most movies like this would usually be a worn-out cliché of a dim-witted guy with slow mumbling speech who thinks the world owes him something. If anything, the film actually takes pokes at how these clichés have been so over-used. Brand takes this surprisingly amiable guy, who befriends his potential rival Brian, and runs with it. He gets some of the best laugh lines, too.
Bell, as the titular Sarah Marshall, is excellent. She, too, could have been a stock foul-mouthed, self satisfying, worthless bimbo type who spends hours in front of the mirror. Although the selfishness is there, it's at a believable level, and there are even fleeting moments when a good side to Sarah is shown. Mila Kunis plays Rachel, Peter's new girl friend, who works at a resort hotel in Hawaii, where all the action takes place. Either Kunis has improved immensely since her sitcom "70's Show" days, or else her role here as Rachel just gave her a more rounded character to work with: she is fabulous in this film.
Only Jason Segel (as the broken hearted Peter) is weak in his role; ironic, since he is the writer of the script. It's obvious his intent is to reverse typical gender personality types for the comic effect. Peter is clingy, explosively emotive, cries, and can't let go of the broken relationship. This all works for funny moments, but Segel's performance has a feel of "Look how fully I am!" It's more over done than comic exaggeration needs to be. Also, someone tell Mr. Segel we really don't need to see his full frontal poses: he plays them as a joke, OK, but they evoke barf bag reactions, not laughs.
This film falls into the trap of throwing in some mindless stuff, but overall, it's a surprising treat that's fun to watch.