110 mins. Comedy/Romance. Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, MilaKunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill. Director:Nicholas Stoller.
FALLING in love is an exhilarating rush ofblood to the head: an irrational, overwhelming surge of emotion thatturns grown men into simpering idiots, incapable of stringing togethereven the most simple, monosyllabic sentence.
Nothingcompares to the giddy thrill of that first reciprocated "I love you" -except perhaps the crushing, knockout blow when the relationship ends.
ForgettingSarah Marshall is a wonderful, touching romantic comedy about one guy'sdisastrous efforts to recover from the heartbreak of being dumped byhis beautiful girlfriend.
It's a situation most of us canrelate to - the struggle to find a glimmer of hope in the perpetualdarkness - and Nicholas Stoller's raucous film speaks from the heart tofind humour in its hero's pain, tugging our heartstrings while leavingus helpless with laughter with some memorable risque interludes.
JasonSegel, the film's screenwriter and adorable leading man, defiesexpectations within a familiar framework, setting his Everyman'sjourney of self-discovery in the gorgeous, sun-kissed setting of Oahu'sNorth Shore.
If you're going to mend a broken heart, you may as well do it on the Hawaiian islands.
Talentedcomposer Peter Bretter (Segel) has always been content to stand in theshadow of his celebrity girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Bell), the beautifulstar of hit television series Crime Scene: Scene Of The Crime.
Thenout of the blue, Sarah dumps Peter, revealing that she is seeingsomeone else: leather-clad British rock star Aldous Snow (Brand).
Thecomposer is devastated to have lost the love of his life and hedescends, at breakneck speed, into a seemingly bottomless pit ofself-pity and self-loathing.
At the behest of his brother (Hader), Peter agrees to clear his head on a vacation in Hawaii.
However,the dream tropical adventure becomes a nightmare when Peter discoversthat lovebirds Sarah and Aldous are staying in the same luxury hotel.
Refusingto move, if only because there are no other rooms available, Petermakes the best of an embarrassing situation, striking up a tenderfriendship with receptionist Rachel (Kunis).
ForgettingSarah Marshall is smart and sassy, buoyed by Segel's natural charm andhis willingness to humiliate himself for the sake of the film (likeconducting the break-up scene completely nude).
Heeffortlessly wins our sympathy, forlornly hoping for a reconciliationwith Sarah ("It's like the Sopranos. It's over!" Peter's brother tellshim bluntly) then shying away from intimacy with Rachel for fear ofbeing hurt again ("My heart is broken and I can't imagine dating anyoneright now").
Bell and Kunis are appealing love interestsand Brand is hilarious in a role that may as well have been written forhim, fending off the advances of a waiter (Hill), whose admiration forAldous's music borders on the obsessive.
Excerpts of Sarah's CSI-lite crime show are hysterical, topped by an additional snippet during the end credits.
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