Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Rating: 7/10 (3 May 2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is about a man named Peter whose actress girlfriend, Sarah ends up dumping him for another guy. Because they were together for five years and because of Peter's love for Sarah, he is crushed by this news. He starts off by moping about his house and soon his job which leads to his stepbrother suggesting he take a vacation to clear his mind and forget about Sarah. Peter gives in and soon he is in Hawaii for a mini vacation. To make things awkward though, Peter runs into Sarah, who is also vacationing in Hawaii with her new boyfriend which makes Peter even more depressed until he strikes up a relationship with the clerk at the hotel he is staying at named Rachel. Running into each other frequently, Peter tries to forget about Sarah and start things with Rachel, but things may prove to be a tad more difficult as he has a hard time adjusting to the break up and Sarah's new boyfriend. I really wanted to like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and while I didn't hate it, it didn't particularly wow me either. I found little to no humour in the film and when it tried to be funny, I found the jokes to be stale and some of the same material got repeated several times which just got to be tiresome and boring after awhile. I also really couldn't identify, or like any of these characters because most of them got on my nerves with their constant whining and self loathing. I also found the characters to be really into themselves and self indulgent which made it even harder to like them and identify with them and find pleasure in watching them. I guess there were a few moments where the creativity peaked, but mostly the film didn't feel particularly new, or anything worth raving about. The performances while not bad, couldn't really save the film either from just being a mediocre film that could have been a lot better. When you have a comedy that isn't particularly funny, inventive, or when the characters grate on your nerves, you know it isn't going to be a hit movie and Forgetting Sarah Marshall was certainly no hit in my books.