Street Date: September 30

Official Synopsis:

Peter (Jason Segel) is a struggling musician who finds his world turned upside down when his TV celebrity girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), dumps him for a tragically hip rock star. It's the hysterically funny look at how far one man will go to forget a girl - and all the fun he finds along the way!

Our Take:

I’ve made no secret out of how much I think most anything that Judd Apatow has to do with is completely overrated. At this point, I’m pretty tired of seeing his name on anything at all, but since I’ve at least liked some of the films out of the Apatow Factory (with the exception of the execrable Pineapple Express), I always check them out on video in case there is a really good one slipping under my radar. But the chances of getting me to pay to see an Apatow-related comedy in theaters anymore are almost nil.

What I’ve learned over the past few years, though, is that the less successful an Apatow flick is, the more I’m going to like it. I loved Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which was a box office bomb, and now Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which was a medium-sized hit at best) comes along and is incredibly funny. I guess I have to chalk that up to Jason Segel, who wrote the film and stars in it. While Apatow gets his hand in things in the form of regulars such as Bill Hader and Jonah Hill showing up in completely annoying and unnecessary roles, it’s Segel’s picture all the way. His script is funny, he’s an amiable leading man, and it’s clear that he’s got a solid concept that’s designed ofr laughs and emotional connection at work. You’ve probably heard by now about the Dracula puppet sequence; trust me, it’s as funny as it sounds.

Segel is ably supported by a terrific cast (with the exception of the aforementioned Hader and Hill), but the real standout is Mila Kunis. Kunis has come a long way from That ‘70s Show and is a terrific leading lady for Segel. She’s charming, funny, smart, and sexy as hell, and I don’t think the movie would have worked nearly as well without her in it.

The one nice thing about most Apatow comedies is that they come loaded with extra features, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall is no exception.

* Unrated Edition – You can watch the unrated version of the film, which has about six extra minutes of footage in it.

* Video Diaries (35 minutes) – A ton of on-set footage, interviews, and alternate takes.

* Feature Commentary - With Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Kristen Bell, Jack McBrayer, and some of the film’s producers.

* Deleted And Extended Scenes (20 minutes) – Eleven deleted scenes.

* Line-O-Rama (8 minutes) – A collection of ad-libbed lines.

* Sex-O-Rama (3 minutes) – More alternate takes.

* Drunk-O-Rama (2 minutes) – Even more alternate takes. They must go through a lot of film stock on these movies.

* Gag Reel (6 minutes) – One of the funniest I’ve seen in a long time.

* More From Crime Scene (4 minutes) – Too awesome to spoil here.

* Rehearsal Featurettes (9 minutes)

* Russell Brand Featurette (6 minutes)

* Music Video –Brand’s song from the film in it’s entirety.

* Extended Chat Scene (8 minutes).

* Digital Copy – A second disc includes a digital copy of the film.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a fun, unique, enjoyable comedy, and it is the perfect date night movie. If you’re like me and are tired of anything Judd Apatow has a hand in, don’t let that dissuade you from seeing this highly funny film.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: A-
DVD: A

- Mike Spring

Editor