This is basically just Russell Brand's life

Rating: 4/10 (10 June 2010)

Most every scene in here is meant to showcase Aldous Snow's rock n' roll lifestyle, which are actually all the past autobiographical experiences of Russell Brand. Russell Brand does dress like that, his mother does push food instead of love (though he doesn't live with her), he did try boxing his estranged father as some kind of creepy Oedipal christening, he was a heroin addict that made many trades in Camden Town through kissing the beads from the dealer, and his methods of transportation for his narcotics is the same as the one excruciatingly drawn out in the film, and I'm sure he had many similar scandalous relations with women and men similar to as seen in the film. R. Brand has relapses. R. Brand has taken drug-crazed road trips through the desert and holds some heroin-haze encrusted truths (like the ones Jonah comes up with in the car ride to LA), still like gold to his dear muddled little heart and until a year ago thought it was groundbreaking and revolutionary to give them away on TV interviews and the like. And most of all, he loves being self destructive and feeling sorry for himself through his art. The only thing I can find in the film not "branded" by the (made public) past that runs through youtube and his autobiography is Jonah Hill and Elizabeth Moss's stretched for time relationship and her status as a doctor. Left field. So we all know now, much as we did before, that Russell Brand can't act, he can only play himself. So this is a fantastic movie if you want to see Mr. Brand taking himself too seriously. Even in acting he has too much earnest sincerity beneath the veil of making fun of himself; It makes him a great human personality and relatable media character, but only is truly funny when he relates to us about himself aka his day job, stand-up comedy. I think this movie is the life Brand likes to think he had for himself and this hinders the viewer if they don't understand this because everything is blown so far out of proportion and none of it is in any way relatable even for a spasm of a second (except for that bit with Jonah's girlfriends bad hours), that it's much better as farce seen (through Nick Stoller's interpretation of) thru the eyes of Russell and those who know him than another Apatow comedy. Some people would say if you have to look through the eyes of the creator, it's not a true work of art- but of course it's not, it's Russell Brand.