Good Laughs

Rating: Null/10 (2 December 2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
*** (out of 4)
A music composer (Jason Segel) gets dumped by his actress girlfriend (Kristen Bell) so he heads to Hawaii to get away from his heartbreak but runs into more when he bumps into the ex there with her new lover (Russell Brand). His tears start flowing even more but that all changes when he meets a young woman (Mila Kunis) who works at the hotel he's staying at. This is another good entry in the recent trend of "gross out" comedies but it's certainly not in the same league as The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up. I think both of those films did a great job at mixing the laughs with the more heart felt moments but I was a little surprised that this film wasn't funnier. That's not to say there aren't any laughs here because there are a lot but just not enough to justify the long running time. I watched the extended cut, which runs 118-minutes and I must admit that I think the faults of this film are in its running time, which is just way too long. Many of the jokes just keep getting repeated and while they're funny the first time they're aren't the fifth time. The non-stop crying jokes are one example as are the countless shots of Segel's penis. What really keeps the film moving are the very good performances from the entire cast with Kunis stealing the show. Segel makes for a good lead, although I think a stronger one would have suited the film better. The actor does a good job at making us care for him and he handles the comedy very well. I thought Brand's character was a tad bit poorly written with his "peaceful" attitude towards women and sex. Bell is very good in her part as Sarah Marshall but this film belongs to Kunis. I believe this was the first time I had seen her and she certainly has the charm and charisma that really jumps off the screen.