Forgetting Sarah Marshall

OK, what could be worse than being dumped by your incredibly beautiful girlfriend? How about being totally * while you are being dumped by your (fully clothed) beautiful girlfriend? (Congrats to Jason Segel for having the guts to do so much frontal nudity. The "dump" scene just wouldn't have had the same effect without it!) I don't want to give anything away but, believe me, our hero's predicament doesn't improve at all afterwards either. My wife's comment was best, I think. She said, "I don't know whether to fall on the floor laughing or cry for that poor guy." The film manages to make you feel sorry for the guy while laughing your head off at the same time. The film certainly doesn't shy away from adult humor but it is used intelligently -- the film is not just dirty for the sake of being dirty. This is one film my wife and I will be buying immediately when it hits DVD.

I don't get it. I'm SO tired of people telling me these "Apatow" movies are funny, then I rent them and they are TOTALLY lame. All of them. This is a prime example. This one is LITERALLY, "The Emperors New Clothes." Someone has no clothes= laugh riot. And I have nothing against raunchy humor, but this is just not funny. I appreciate that they tried to have characters, but where are the jokes? It plays like a meandering weak sitcom with occasional * people and unfunny cursing substituting for laughs. And two hours long????? You've got to be kidding me. Brevity is often best with comedy, but not in the Apatow cannon. "Knocked-Up," another disappointing snooze (that some critic compared"Annie Hall"-- Huh ????) is two hours and fifteen minutes!!!!!! I long for the days when Woody Allen's average length for a comedy was 86 minutes. Stop telling me this junk is funny! You want a funny, raunchy comedy? Rent, "Animal House."

I'm not a big fan of Judd Apatow and his recent crop of movies. That said, I got to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" April 11 at a preview screening with some friends, and I was impressed. It's a joke movie, but it has a story that pulls you along, and the jokes are outrageously funny. I nearly died laughing. It doesn't try to push the envelope of "How immature and disgusting can we be?", which was what I have come to expect from these sorts of movies. It's just funny actors doing a great job of telling a good story that most adults will relate to in some way. It's honest fun, and I wish there were more comedies like this coming out. All my friends enjoyed the film, too (aged 20-27). It's a good date movie, though certainly NOT one for the kids or younger teenagers.

This film was shown at my university tonight and Stoller was there for a Q&A after the screening. The film was the typical Apatow romp that we have seen as of late (Superbad, Knocked up, etc.). There was the usual crude and creative humor as well inappropriate sexuality to make another great Apatow team production. People should not come in with the expectation that this is another romantic comedy reincarnation of "Knocked Up". This is more of a typical and organic romantic comedy. The heavy emotional weight and issues in "Knocked up" are not present in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". The casting and comedic pacing was done very well and though it may not be a cinematic heavy hitter, it was very good for a directing debut and it was what movies all strive to be, entertaining.