Movie Review: "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

Movies come in all shapes and sizes-we call them genres. Among the many genres, the comedy genre has the most potential for hits and misses. In recent history, the films of Judd Apatow, he of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared", have mostly been hits ("The 40 Year-Old Virgin", "Knocked Up", "Superbad") with a few misses along the way (most notably "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story").

I am pleased to announce that the latest film from Apatow & Company, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," is a RESOUNDING hit. Most of you probably are aware of the broad strokes of the plot (man is dumped without warning, escapes to Hawaii to recover, and ends up spending his vacation at the same hotel as his ex and her new beau), but what really struck me was the verisimilitude to real-life situations. The dialogue and scenes themselves rang true in a way that is rare in modern day comedies. Most modern comedies tend to go for the overbroad ("Old School", the films of Will Farrell, and anything that stars the individuals from the "Wedding Crashers") but humor that is born out of a real situation is the rarest type. There were several scenes in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" that rang true. For example, Peter (the main character) is blindsided by the breakup, and the viewer feels his pain and also some animosity towards Sarah for putting him in this situation. We learn that Sarah cheated on him during their relationship, and this allows the viewer to feel even more animosity towards Sarah. It is not until later in the film, when Sarah outlines to Peter how hard she tried and how Peter was oblivious does the viewer get a sense that there is more to the story than that from Peter's perspective. None of the characters are truly hissable because, as is often the case in real life, people are not "completely bad" or "completely good". It was this crafting of the characters in the screenplay that allowed the story and the situations to resonate with me long after I had left the theater.

Granted, there were a few "wow" comedy moments as well. Highlights include Peter's interactions with the hotel staff (especially Paul Rudd's surfer burnout character), scenes referencing Peter's vampire musical (the scene featuring his song had me rolling), the "naked break-up" scene (uncomfortable to watch, but steeped in realism), and the dinner scene with both exes out with their new beaus (classic comedy that, once again, felt steeped in realism).

In the end, there were also a few problems with the film. Most notably, I felt a distinct lack of closure with regard to the fates of some of the characters, and the subplot with the newlyweds felt forced and completely superfluous to the rest of the plot. Overall, however, I enjoyed the film and will probably purchase it when it is released on disc.

I wonder if the Children's Television Workshop is going to sue for copyright infringement (see the film and you will understand)...