Riding the wave of success from his recent movies including, The 40-Year-Old Virgin"" and ""Superbad,"" Judd Apatow has produced another winning comedy with ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall,"" a non-stop laugh riot with a heart. By now, movie veterans know the Apatow formula: Take a winning script, cast a relative unknown in the lead, surround the lead with an unforgettable supporting cast and let the magic happen.
The lead in ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall"" is Peter (Jason Segel, who also wrote the script) a stay-at-home husband living in the shadow of his sexy TV-star wife Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell from ""Veronica Mars"").
Peter's life is shattered when he is dumped by Sarah, who has been having an affair with British rocker Aldous Snow (played with ridiculous aplomb by Russell Brand). When Peter tries to escape the memories of Sarah by vacationing in Hawaii, he finds he is staying in the same hotel as Sarah and Aldous, much to his chagrin.
Many of the movie's initial laughs come from Peter's sheer inability to cope, getting drunk and sobbing on his balcony until the front desk girl Rachel (Mila Kunis from ""That '70s Show"") calls to report guests have been complaining. As Peter's world crumbles, Apatow's usual suspects come out for timely and hilarious cameos, including Jonah Hill as an ambivalent waiter, Bill Hader as Peter's best friend and Seth Rogen as a brain-dead surfer who offers Peter the sage advice: ""When life gives you lemons, say 'fuck the lemons' and bail.""
What truly defines ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall"" and lifts it above Apatow's previous hit ""Superbad"" is its heart. The stated goal in ""Superbad"" is to illegally procure alcohol and get with girls before graduation. As noble a cause as this may be, it doesn't compare to the heart of ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall.""
Once Peter begins to crawl out of his depression and pursue his burgeoning relationship with the front desk girl Rachel, audiences gain a new perspective on Peter's character and actively root for him rather than laugh at his pathetic situation. Still, this is an Apatow movie at heart, and despite the feel-good story of love blossoming between Peter and Rachel, the movie still focuses mainly on the need ""to put your D in someone's V."" Or, as Peter responds, the ""need to B my L on someone's Ts.""
In all, ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall"" cements Apatow as the producer du jour for teen comedies today. Before ""The 40-Year-Old Virgin,"" Steve Carell was just a funny side character in ""Anchorman."" Before ""Knocked Up,"" Seth Rogen was just a funny side character in ""40-Year-Old Virgin."" Before ""Superbad,"" Jonah Hill was just a funny side character in ""Knocked Up."" With ""Forgetting Sarah Marshall,"" Apatow once again proves that regardless of who stars in his movies, hilarity and hi-jinks will follow.
