Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2008)

I sit before this computer awestruck, currently experiencing what I call "Cinematic Grandeur" running through my very veins. I have felt the once-in-a-blue-moon feeling of wanting to see a movie the second it was over. No, not Juno, not Crash, not The Matrix, not one of them life-altering Oscar flicks. No, this is simply a potty-mouthed laugh attack.
And it's brilliant.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (A Judd Apatow Production), details the life of Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, How I Met Your Mother) following a break-off of a five year love-a-thon with TV celeb Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, Heroes). Broken-hearted and crying like a schoolgirl, Peter resorts to a trip to Hawaii to calm his state of panic, only to find everyone's favorite celebrity ex and her newest boytoy, British rock sensation Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). The heartbreak continues despite being surrounded by the most beautiful part of the country, until encouraged by friends to secure a hot date with the lovely receptionist Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis, That 70's Show). What follows is a laugh riot featuring great cameos and one liners that'll leave you in stitches.
It should be noted right away, though the plot sounds quasi-cliché, it feels anything but. Snappy one-liners and cut-away jokes make for brilliant surprises in the plot, and the timing of said jokes is phenomenal. What I refer to as "Family Guy Syndrome", aka the ability to drag on a joke way too long, is gone completely from FSM. Just when one of the jokes seems tedious, it's over and the plot advances. The writing is top-notch, brilliantly funny, and delivered solidly by the four main leads.
The aforementioned leads carry the plot like a sloth carries moss. Segel's moments of sheer embarrassment are to die for, and I mean embarrassment. Full frontal embarrassment. Meanwhile Brand attempts to steal the show as the British music idol who's borderline straight-edge and consistently delivers comedy gold. Kunis and Bell each act out their respective girly parts well, and you manage to find yourself caring about each character despite the way you want to hate Marshall.
Perhaps most intriguing is the ability of actor cameos to bring a smile to your face, whether's it's Jonah Hill (of Accepted and Superbad fame) as a waiter obsessed with the career of Snow, Paul Rudd (star of previous Apatow projects, 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Knocked Up) as a dim bulb surf instructor or even Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) making a great cameo while the credits roll. All the bit parts are played competently and each manages to steal the scene when they're on screen. If anything, all the comedy belongs to the background players while the big four advance the plot. Oh, and did I mention Jack McBrayer (30 Rock's Kenneth) plays quite a part himself?
When push comes to shove, I don't how much more praise I can lay on this movie. It's heartfelt, hilarious, and dare I say it, near-perfect. I'd love to say it's perfect, simply because I can't find any flaws, but I'm hesitant to dish out that scary ten out of ten. That said, FSM is the funniest movie I've seen in years. Better than Wedding Crashers, Anchorman, Knocked Up, Superbad, if you name it, this movie's likely funnier. Led by strong acting, snappy writing, and an all out fantastic showing by everyone involved, it seems Judd Apatow has once again struck comedy gold. My only question is, how does he outdo this one?