A laugh riot in spots

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2010)

Get Him to the Greek has moments of riotous hilarity, pockmarked with only a few scenes that try a little too hard to be effectively sentimental. The yin/yang chemistry between Russell Brand as a druggie rock star and Jonah Hill is believable and entertaining, and aside from the typical awkward nonslapstick scenes from writer Judd Apatow, the movie generally works.
Aldous Snow (Brand), introduced in 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is now a washed-up rocker. He's been on the wagon, then off it. His band, Infant Sadness, hasn't played in ten years. Then a young record-company intern named Aaron Green (Hill) gets the idea of having the band reunite for a tenth anniversary show at the famed Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Aaron's high-octane boss Sergio (P. Diddy) instructs his charge to jet to London, gather up Snow and fly him to New York to be on the Today Show, then fly him to LA for the reunion show. Hilarity ensues.
It actually does, too. Naturally, Aaron and Aldous are complete opposites – one a party-hardy hedonist and one more of a button-down, take-no-chances drip, one who has many brief encounters with the female kind and one who is just coming out of a long-term relationship. Or so he thinks, anyway. And as much as Aaron wants to get things moving along, Aldous wants to tarry and enjoy life a bit longer, sort of a microcosm of their individual lives up to that point.
It's no surprise that each does a little bit of growing up along the way. But we're not meant to focus on that. Instead, Aaron and Aldous experience wacky escapades along the lines of Bachelor Party, with echoes of Pulp Fiction and The Hangover. What makes it all work is that it's not just one zany scene after another; director Nicholas Stoller tosses in some serious moments that are meant to humanize Aldous a bit more and take the edge off a little.
The movie as a whole is effective in part because Brand is such a gifted comic who's made the Aldous Snow character his own. Brand as Snow electrifies the room when he walks in, sort of what you'd expect from a glamorous rocker. Even one who has some deep-seated issues of his own. See, the movie moves along pretty damn well when it's concentrating on the wackiness, with a smidge of seriousness thrown in, but when too much focus is diverted to those serious psychological issues, then it sort of crumbles. And it's not just issues with Aldous Snow, either; there are a few that try to work out Aaron's own problems (although for most of the movie he's befuddled and along for the ride, a well-meaning patsy).
In particular, there is one scene near the end in which Aldous attempts to help Aaron and his girlfriend Daphne resolve their differences. Like with the more serious scenes in Forgetting Sarah Marshall – also directed by Stoller, and the movie to which this is sort of a sequel – the scene seems pointless and jarring. It's the opposite of what you, as viewer, want to see, as it's neither sexy nor funny nor illuminating.
Another slight debit is P. Diddy. The man can play unhinged well, but he's not always funny here – sometimes he just comes off as a mean jerk. And not in the Mr. Dithers (boss of Dagwood Bumstead) way, either, not in the comically inept gangster way, just sort of sour and bitter. A little more work might help him, since I believe this was his first comedic attempt. And for a first attempt, it ain't bad.
The bottom line is that Get Him to the Greek is really funny for a good portion of the film, with only a few dips into ill-advised sentimentality that just isn't effective and even helps kill the mood. Both Brand and Hill are well cast and are hysterical.