Surprisingly great film

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2010)

Finally! A comedy that doesn't bank of copious amounts of stupidity and overused jokes to "entertain" its audience. Get Him to the Greek actually managed to entertain me enough to be considered not just another silly comedy. It's not to say that the film isn't silly, or raunchy, or over the top, but it's all done in a fashionable manner. It had me laughing practically through the entire film. In Get Him to the Greek Russell Brand reprises his role as Aldous Snow, a self destructive rock star whose first appearance was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008. At this point in time, however, Aldous is a has-been rocker after the utter failure of his last studio album. Jonah Hill plays Aaron Green who is a record company intern who is in charge of setting up Aldous Snow's reunion concert at the Greek Theater in L.A. Aldous proves to be absolutely uncontrollable and completely insane. He fits all the criteria of a true rock star. He's got a big personality and attitude, he's addicted to booze and women, and he's also on drugs. Lots of drugs. The ensuing journey is full of shocking hilarity and scandalous behavior.
The great thing about Get Him to the Greek is that it is just a comedy that pulls out all the ridiculous stops, but I can actually go as far to say that it is a well made film and slightly more credibility than just some good laughs. Russell Brand is hilarious as the overzealous drugged up rock star and Jonah Hill, while I do tire of his typecast role, does a great job here, stepping up his game to a slightly higher maturity level while still retaining his quirkiness. And Brand and Hill together as a pair do fantastic. Their chemistry is completely there and provides for some great character interaction with increasingly funny results. The supporting cast do a great job as well with people like Rose Byrn playing Aldous' ex-girlfriend Jackie Q who sports an adorably hilarious Australian/British hybrid accent. There is also P. Diddy Combs who plays the manager of the record company Aaron works for. He impressed me with some of the most twisted and monumentally funny moments of the whole movie. The whole cast has fun with this one and they don't refrain from going as far into the insane world of rock and roll as they can.
The other great thing about this movie is that it is a movie about rock and roll. It's a comedy first but it actually has legitimately rocking scenes that are so fun and exciting that you can't help but enjoy the rocking grandeur of this comedy. It's also helpful that the film succeeds on these levels so that some of the issues can be forgiven. There are definitely some plot holes and odd moments that make you do a double take as to how reasonable this plot really is. The film also does seem to get lost in itself towards the end. It randomly squeezes in a bit of philosophical intrigue towards the end that breaks the flow of the film to an extent. Problems like these are excusable against the funny and entertaining backdrop of this film.
In the long line of Apatow Production films Get Him to the Greek stands out as one of the funnier films. Its a great no holds bars comedy that you can find humor in somewhere. And despite the issues and the getting lost in itself, the film indeed has a heart. It's one of the few comedies that has come out in recent years that I would consider going back to re watch.