There has been a visible development of romantic comedies,
leaving in the past the stories focusing of the fragility of women in search of
their soul mates. The alteration of the genre brought into the viewers’ attention
the vulnerability of men and their yearning for love. Even though we cannot say
for sure that this constitutes an evolution for the movie genre, it is
definitely an essential change that would still keep them charming.
This week-end premieres a romantic comedy of the new kind,
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” It is sufficient to add that its producer is Judd
Apatow, to reveal other details of the movie. First of all, everyone is now
expecting enough belly laughs to have a muscular fever soon. Then, we have the
Apatow pattern: meeting, conquest, breakup, obsessions. Corroborated with the
suggestive title, from the very beginning moviegoers already suspect that it’s
an extremely funny story about a nerd who loses the girl of his dreams, and who
is haunted afterwards by obsessive thoughts to win her back.
Directed by debutant Nicholas Stoller and based on the
script written by Jason Segel (household names of “Freaks and Geeks”), “Forgetting
Sarah Marshall” talks about humiliation and depicts love from the vantage point
of the insecure male. Segel, from CBS’ comedy series “How I Met Your Mother,”
is also the protagonist of the movie; this role perfectly suits him, as it
appears as a prolongation of his part in the sitcom, still clumsy and craving to
be in a couple.
The movie is generously rated ‘R,’ since nudity scenes are
abundant; and since we’ve mentioned that this comedy focuses on the male drama,
the female cast members keep all their clothes on, while the protagonist drops
the only towel covering his body.
Peter (Segel) is a composer for a TV show in which stars his
girlfriend, beautiful Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). But his dependency reaches
unbearable limits for her, so his girlfriend of five years dumps him (and he
dumps his towel). Heartbroken, Peter’s self-indulgence deepens in tears, anger,
casual sex and reruns of some TV shows. This lasts until brother Brian (Bill
Hader) suggests that a change of scenery might bring some improvement.
Therefore Peter leaves for a secluded Hawaiian resort of which
he heard Sarah talking. To his great surprise, Sarah didn’t forget about the
location either, being on vacation with her new boyfriend, British rock-star Aldous
Snow (Russell Brand). He overcomes his astonishment with the help of a surf
instructor (Paul Rudd) and a hotel waiter (Jonah Hill, who alongside Rudd, are
members of the Apatow stock company) and most importantly, with the help of
sympathetic hotel clerk, Rachael (played by Mila Kunis). The latter becomes his
new love interest, and, even though Sarah breaks up with her rock star and
tries to turn back to him, Rachael remains the chosen one.
British stand-up comedian Russell Brand is the refreshment
of the movie, excelling in being tremendously funny. Egocentric, he is the
center of the universe wearing black leather pants. Even though “Sarah” does
not outstrip “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” or “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” in terms of
amusement, Brand is sufficient to state with certainty that the movie is
entertaining.
The less fortunate trait of this kind of romantic comedies,
focusing on the male drama, is that the feminine characters do not excel in anything
besides looking good. This might constitute a major drawback for the genre,
losing some of the feminine audience; however, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is
amusing and charming enough to keep the ladies in front of the silver
screen.
Movie Type:Comedy
MPAA Rating:R for sexual content, language and some graphic
nudity
Directed By: Paul Rudd, Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Mila
Kunis, Russell Brand
Cast:Nicholas Stoller
Released: April 18th, 2008 (wide)
