review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

When I saw Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mother was the lead in a new comedy I thought, I really gotta go see that. I really like How I Met Your Mother, it’s a great show and well deserves to stay in the network schedules this fall. It’s well written, sharp, funny and most of all it has a great cast of characters. Well actually, most of all at this stage I really want to find out who the kids mother is! Then I saw that Kristen Bell from Veronica Mars was also in it, another great TV show! Then I saw that Russell Brand was it… and unlikely many many people over here, I actually like Russell Brand, I saw him once on Jonathan Ross and I just thought he was hilarious so as far as I’m concerned, he’s a-ok. So, I really wanted to see this film.

So back to the film. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is pretty much a romantic comedy, but more along the lines of Knocked Up than 27 Dresses (actually, did I write a review of 27 Dresses yet? No? I’ll have to get around to it soon). Anyway, it’s not that surprising really, since FSM and KU share the same producers, current favourites Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson. In general, I’ve enjoyed their films and FSM was no exception. I laughed – job done. Being honest, it wasn’t the best film these two have produced, that honour goes to… I’ll have to say Anchorman (of the ones I’ve seen anyway) but it was good fun at the time.

“What was good about it?” I hear you ask… well, I liked the main character, though considering the guy playing the main character wrote it; it’s hardly surprising that he was the most well rounded and sympathetic character of the lot of them. Russell Brand was very good too, a likeable lothario and while hardly the brightest bulb, still had a brain in his head – exactly the kind of caricature he should be playing. Jack McBrayer from 30 Rock was very funny to in a small but memorable supporting role. Aside from those three the characters weren’t great, Sarah Marshall in particular was pretty one dimensional but it didn’t really matter. It’s just a comedy, a fluffy light film to eat popcorn to.

I can’t really recommend it to be honest, certainly not in the cinema, but it was entertaining at the time and I don’t think you’d regret it if you got it out on DVD.

6.5/10