The Bar

Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Writer(s): Jason Segel

Studio: Universal

Rating: R

Official Bar Score:

When lazy but good natured composer Peter (Segel) is dumped by his famous actress girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Bell), he is sufficiently heart broken. Any and all attempts to rebound prove to be futile, so he decides to take a well deserved break from the world in an upscale resort in Hawaii. But as if God is playing a cruel joke on him, his ex and her new British rocker beau (Brand) are vacationing in the same place. Not wanting to seem like he is running away, Peter decides to grin and bear it. He meets the lovely hotel clerk Rachel (Kunis), as well as a cavalcade of oddball island natives, and begins to find a new lease on life. But his depression refuses to go down without a fight.

I’ve reviewed the last few films to come out the Apatow camp (“Knocked Up”, “Superbad”, “Walk Hard”), and after this it’s official: I am a fanboy, plain and simple. This was obvious before, but the team has become a factory, churning out one charming, clever, and downright hilarious film after another. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” could have easily been an exception to the rule. For one, the story is much more “chick flickish” than usual, eschewing the usual moments of slapstick and over the top vulgarity that was a huge source of the humor present in all of their films. Outside of a few moments, the vulgar humor is subdued and physical humor is pretty much nowhere to be found. There were no gross out moments a la “Knocked Up”’s notorious crowning scene or “Superbad”’s period blood dance. There aren’t any hilariously sophomoric exchanges a la “The Forty Year Old Virgin”’s classic and oft quoted “You know how I know you’re gay” scene or just plain inane and random moments like “Talladega Nights”‘ Ricky Bobby training for a Nascar race while trying not get mauled by a cougar. The film for the most part relies heavily on dialogue and awkward situational humor.

The thing is, the dialogue and situational humor are some of the best put to celluloid in a long time. It’s almost as if when writer/star Jason Segel sat down to write this, he set a goal for each scene to get progressively more hilarious. The film starts out mildly humorous, getting the obligatory shock moment out of the way early and setting the tone and plot into place before shifting the setting to the more tropical locale. It’s at this point that the floodgate of jokes is pulled back, and you just finding yourself laughing non-stop, to the point where you might miss a few things. And it’s deep too, with jokes being cracked about such random things as Van Helsing from Dracula.

But the real charm of the film lies in it’s characters. The only unlikeable character is the one in the title and, well, she is supposed to be. Everyone else is as charming as they come, from British rocker Aldous Snow (hilariously played by the scene stealing Russell Brand) all the way to the buffet cook. It’s one of the better lineup of characters I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, with everyone being as odd and different as they come, yet fitting together perfectly to create a hilarious work of art. BIG nods go to Russell Brand and Paul Rudd. I hate to single out anyone from the cast because there isn’t a single performer who didn’t nail their part, but those two have you cracking up more than everyone else.

I know this entire review sounds like the lunatic raving of a fanboy, I know this. But what you have to understand is that I am actively looking for these guys to screw up. I keep expecting it. There is no way anybody can be as consistent as they are. But they are disproving that one hilarious movie after another. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is the best movie to come out thus far in 2008, period. It’s got something for everyone, be they woman, man, young, old, black, white, candy stripe. It doesn’t matter. It’s a wonderful comedy that deserves to not be forgotten.

Oh yeah, on top of everything else they deliver Mila Kunis showing her boobs. So yeah, buy a ticket. Now.*

*5/29/08: Fuck it, I admit I was wrong. They weren’t her tits. That’s some bullshit. It’s still a great movie though.

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