A warm and funny film, no matter how crude it may appear on the surface

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2010)

Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is a rock star who has come under public criticism for his tasteless song African Child. Following this critical panning, Aldous breaks up with his long term partner Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), even though they have a son, and after being sober for several years he resumes drinking again. Meanwhile, Pinnacle Records boss Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) calls a crisis meeting with his staff, hoping to spark ideas for his music company. Intern Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) comes up with the idea of holding a special anniversary concert for one of Aldou's famous performances. Sergio is initially reluctant but with little choice he tasks Aaron with bringing Aldous from the UK to the Greek Theatre in the USA. Just before he leaves, Aaron has a row with his girlfriend Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), who is working as a nurse and wants to move to Seattle. Believing that he has broken up with her, Aaron has a slightly more free rein as Aldous takes him through his crazy rock star lifestyle.
It is with a certain degree of irony that toilet humour has long been a staple of adult comedies. Sex gags and bodily functions are favourable in American comedies because they allow people to experience the most cringing situations without the embarrassing memories or incriminating Facebook photos. Judd Apatow is a director who has deliberately set out to throwback to the 80s style frat boy gross-out comedies for adults. His production company has been responsible for films such as Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and now Get Him to the Greek. This film has Apatow's stamp on it but it was written and directed by Nicholas Stoller who brings back two of the same characters from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The result is one of the funniest films so far this year, no matter how lowbrow it may seem. The film is tailored for audiences who enjoy the gross-out brand of humour as there are copious scenes involving anal humour, vomiting and drunkenness. Some may compare it to The Hangover (2009) but given the way that it parodies and mocks the music industry, it probably has more in common with Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder (2008.), drawing broad strokes about the self-indulgent nature of washed-up celebrities in a cutthroat industry. The plot here is indeed thin and exists largely to host a series of extremely funny skits of Aldous embarrassing Aaron, like getting him to smuggle drugs in his anus through the airport. Yet the tone remains light, never nasty and the cringing nature of these situations and some of the tension too, ensures that the laughs are frequent.
Although Russell Brand is a popular comedian it is pleasing that the script is brimming with hilarious dialogue that allows him to share a lot of the laughs with Jonah Hill. Hill's timing, expressions and his ability to look completely helpless when his girlfriend, Aldous or Sergio are standing over him, makes Aaron an incredibly funny but also endearing character. Both actors give really funny and silly performances but its Hill that practically steals the movie. Surprisingly, there are some efforts to round out the characters beyond a level of caricature in the form of their relationships, in a manner which is not entirely superfluous. There are loose women who follow Aldous everywhere but he also has his partner who holds a revelation about their son and Aaron also has a rather sweet relationship with Daphne, which brings some humanity amidst the craziness of the rock star lifestyle. One of the biggest surprises held by the film though is the hysterical, self-deprecating performance from Sean Combs, whose character shares the same vein of insanity as Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder. His crazy theories about mind controlling and the life expectancy of British rock stars are just some of his very best moments. This unlikely performance actually begs whether Sean Comb's embarrassing fragrance commercial "I Am King" was a joke on himself and everyone else for believing he was serious.
Get him To the Greek is an adult comedy with a lot of juvenile and silly gags but this is still one of the funniest films one of the year because of the frequently hilarious dialogue and the performances of the cast who know how to play their roles straight. Those who are willing to tolerate this brand of humour will find this to be a most enjoyable comedy and the end will resonate with them because of its rather sweet message, speaking about personal potential, leaving it as a warm and funny film, no matter how crude it may appear on the surface.