Another comedy from Apatow Productions, and as I expected, it's another raunchy and funny one

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2011)

I've seen a bunch of comedy films produced by Judd Apatow, and haven't been impressed with all of them, but have found most of them funny. Before watching "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", I knew it was another production from him, and also knew that Russell Brand was in it. I had never seen him in any movies before, but first heard of him a while ago, hearing about his friendship with Noel Gallagher, who was then still in Oasis. Brand has become very famous in recent years, getting lots of media attention, but is also a very polarizing comedian. Many hate him with a passion, and you might hate me for saying this, but before seeing this film, videos I had seen of him online had convinced me that he was a talented guy! Anyway, I was expecting lots of laughs from this particular Apatow Productions effort, and I definitely got them.
Peter Bretter is a composer in Los Angeles who has been in a relationship with actress Sarah Marshall for the past five years. She stars in a TV show called "Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime", for which Peter writes the musical score. However, after five years together, Sarah suddenly announces that she is breaking up with Peter, as she is now in love with somebody else. The composer is devastated by his loss, and finds that one-night stands don't help him get over it, so he decides to go on vacation in Hawaii. He arrives at a Hawaiian resort hotel to ask for a room, but as luck would have it, he quickly discovers that Sarah and her current boyfriend, Aldous Snow, the lead singer of a rock band called Infant Sorrow, are also currently guests at this resort! Due to this inconvenience, it doesn't look like this trip is going to help Peter at all. During his stay in Hawaii, things do begin to look good for him as he falls in love with hotel receptionist Rachel Jansen, but the struggling composer might still have feelings for Sarah.
This R-rated romantic comedy begins by showing us Peter as he is happy at home, just before Sarah comes in and tells him the bad news. I didn't laugh much at this point until I saw the video for Infant Sorrow's "We've Got to Do Something" come on to Peter's TV. After this, it is memorably funny when Peter learns that his relationship with Sarah is over and we see his reaction to this. Many laughs quickly follow as we see the protagonist's struggles after this breakup and before he goes on the trip, which definitely includes the part where he destroys a screen when he sees Sarah's face on it! The funny gags keep coming during Peter's vacation trip, with his frequent encounters with Sarah and Aldous, his computer conversations with stepbrother Brian, some of the people he meets in Hawaii (such as Chuck, a surfing instructor whose beginning instructions are very hard to follow), a bunch of sex scenes and lots of sex talk, etc. The laughs aren't as consistent as I could have hoped, as there are some weaker parts, but there are still lots of comic highlights and well crafted characters. Jason Segel puts on a satisfying comedic performance in the lead role of Peter Bretter, and most of the other cast members are steady as well, including Russell Brand as Aldous Snow, who is funny in a number of scenes, one of them being the part where he helps the Darald Braden character with his sex life. In addition to the humour and characters, it also helps that this film also features some beautiful Hawaiian scenery.
Since this 2008 release is from Apatow Productions, it's unsurprisingly a very crude comedy. The swearing, sexuality, and nudity are the reasons for the film's R rating, and with all these elements, it's obviously not for the kids, but just like any extremely raunchy comedy, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" can also disgust many adults and make them think that anyone who actually thinks it's funny must be out of their mind! However, if you can take all the raunchiness and you tend to like these modern-day R-rated comedies, including the ones Judd Apatow produces, plus you're not one of the many who hate Russell Brand, who doesn't play the starring role here but still has a lot of scenes for this breakthrough performance of his, you just might get a lot of laughs out of this movie, just like I did. As much as I'm sure MANY would disagree, I do think this particular Apatow Productions piece is much better than "Superbad", a more popular comedy from the same producer, but one which I just couldn't understand the reputation of!