Segel strikes gold with his script and charismatic performance. A real winner and adorable comedy.

Rating: 9/10 (8 May 2008)

Ah, Judd Apatow and his band of hilarious misfits. FSM features the lowest amount of Apatow regular cast members (3, I believe) of all those movies, but is no less funny than the likes of Knocked Up and Walk Hard. What you have with FSM and all the other Apatow joints is a constant theme of vulgar yet lovable humor, and a beautiful underlying romance. These themes are consistent in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Walk Hard, and to an extent, Anchorman. What is truly great about all these films is that they bring a different thing to the table each time. They are NOT carbon copies of each other, which is absolutely excellent.
The plot of FSM, as with the other Apatow movies, is straightforward, but evolves as the movie goes on: Peter (Jason Segel) is broken up with by his beautiful TV star girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell), and decides to take a vacation away from Los Angeles to get his mind off Sarah...of course, who should be vacationing at the same place as him but Sarah herself?
One thing that is very important to remember is that though we call these movies "Apatow" movies, more often than not, Judd Apatow does not write or direct the movie. This is true with Superbad, Anchorman, Walk Hard (he wrote, not directed it), and this film. The lead actor Jason Segel is behind the script, and it proves to be among the best of the bunch. The dialog is witty, sharp, vulgar, and just plain irresistible. Segel's ability to charm the audience is also no less prevalent. He's a lovable leading man, and I would love to see him do this again. The audience is going to love Peter all throughout the film, and Segel gives far and away the best show of his career, out doing his work in Knocked Up and How I Met Your Mother. The other Apatow cronies that show up in FSM are Jonah Hill (who seems to be in pretty much every single one of them) and Paul Rudd. One could consider supporting performer Bill Hader a member of the group, and if you include him and his great performance as Peter's brother, you get 4. The film also features cameos from William Baldwin and Jason Bateman.
The main supporting cast, always integral to the plot, is great. First you have Sarah Marshall, played by Kristen Bell. Bell, despite playing one of the most unlikable characters of recent memory, managed to make me feel for Sarah at some points, without completely stealing attention from Segel and the actual love interest of the film. Good job by the TV veteran Bell. You've also got British comedian Russell Brand nearly stealing the show as well as he steals Sarah from Peter in the film. He's one of the best parts of the movie and couldn't have been funnier. He also holds one of the funniest lines in the film, opposite Jonah Hill. Lastly, but surely not not least, is another TV star, Mila Kunis. Famous for her roles as Jackie on That 70's Show and Meg Griffin of Family Guy, Kunis creates yet another memorable character, Rachel Jansen, that is tailored perfectly to her talents. I absolutely LOVED her character. She brought out the best in Peter and the chemistry between her and Segel is wonderful.
I'd say that this would have to be the cleanest and least vulgar of the Apatow 'R' rated comedies as far as dialog goes...however, the now infamous nude scenes of Jason Segel hold nothing back. Director Nicholas Stoller does a great job of using Segel's manhood to his advantage (wow, that sounds wrong). I wonder how awkward the cast and crew felt around Segel when those scenes were being shot. I really loved this movie, though it sort of falters towards the end, but the ending more than makes up for it (it's absolutely adorable).
FSM is yet another winning Apatow movie that is lovable, vulgar, and absolutely adorable. Jason Segel gives one of the better comedic performances of recent memory in a movie that should be a bright spot on his career and on the careers of everyone involved. I really think you should see this film if you get the chance.