A movie with a good heart... but just too scatter-shot to recommend

Rating: 6/10 (27 April 2008)

The premise should be familiar to anyone reading this, but just for the sake of being thorough: A television music composer, Peter Bretter (Segal) gets dumped by his longtime TV star girlfriend (Kristin Bell). This break-up is completely unexpected to Peter and in an effort to get over his failed relationship, he inexplicably winds up vacationing in the same Hawaiin resort as his ex and her new love interest. All is not lost for Peter, as an attractive employee at the resort might just be just what he needed.
Typical of most movies from the Apatow stable, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is somewhat crippled by a script that just can't decide what it wants to do... and ultimately throws everything up on the screen hoping that it all sticks. There is a story here that just about anybody who has ever been dumped can easily relate to, it's just too bad that the gloriously simple premise is under-minded by pointless cameos and subplots and general meanderings that hurt the pace while returning far few laughs. Even setting aside the Apatow stable of recurring actors, there are still a lot of scenes that just don't really go anywhere apart from giving Segal somebody new to talk to.. a bartender here, a chef there... Sometimes these scenes lead to a laugh and sometimes they don't... but they always succeed in making the movie feel somewhat aimless and confused. A few seconds later, and Peter is back in his room crying over Sarah. The editing and pacing is just all over the map.
First time screenwriter and leading man Segal does an admirable job when he sticks to the basics of his universal premise. Granted, the setup is nothing short of dumbfounding... As somehow he winds up at the same resort as his ex, and for reasons that nobody will ever properly explain, manages to score the best room in the place for free... but that is all a minor nitpick once the movie gets rolling. When the wheels really come off the train is when the usual stable of Apatow cronies elbow their way into unwarranted screen time. Paul Rudd and Johan Hill do little to justify their presence. I have nothing against those two in particular, and they have both done great work in other works from the Apatow posse... but here, they just distract from what could have been a much more well honed piece of work.
When the movie stays on point, you have a pretty respectable romantic comedy / breakup movie. Segal isn't going to be quitting his sitcom actor day job anytime soon, but he acquits himself pretty well in the leading role. His character is generally pathetic and self-loathing, but always in a "lovable loser" type of way that manages to keep the audience rooting for him despite the mess that he should only blame on himself. Kristen Bell frequently rises above the material, especially later in the film, giving what could be a typical "cheating ex" cliché of a character some decent depth. Mila Kunis is also surprising as the new love interest for Peter, as she shows some true chops that should make you forget about any "That 70's Show" typecasting. Last but not least is Russell Brand as "the other man". His character was so ripe for overdone parody, it's a credit to Brand that he pulled it off with such wonderful subtlety. With the few exceptions when he is actually performing his "music", he steals many scenes without ever appearing to try.
Overall, there is an enjoyable movie wedged in here... It's just too bad that it's so scatter-shot in it's execution. A solid 20 minutes of runtime could have gone to the cutting room floor and the pacing in general could have been much tighter. I had a good enough time seeing this one, as it did feature a decent chunk of legitimate laughs. It's just too bad that the days of a concise, character-driven comedy seem to be a thing of the past. Forgetting Sarah Marshall has a lot going for it, but ultimately it's bloated running time and odd pacing make it a less enjoyable viewing than it could have been.
3/5