CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 4/18/08

Worth Remembering

By david michael wharton

Über-producer Judd Apatow unleashes another multi-talented protégé onto the world as actor Jason Segel steps behind the keyboard (as well as into the lead) with his screenwriting debut, spinning a cringe-inducing but hilarious worst-case scenario for anyone who's survived a painful break-up.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Jason Segel

Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) isn't happy, exactly, but he's comfortable. He makes a good living composing the score for the television show Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime, even though he doesn't feel challenged by the work. He continues to tinker on his passion project, a Dracula puppet rock opera (you heard me), even if he never really makes any headway on it. The one truly bright spot in his life is his girlfriend, and Crime Scene's star, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). When she shows up back in town earlier than expected, only to break up with him before he can even get any clothes on, Peter is left devastated. He throws himself into a series of unsatisfying one-night stands until his stepbrother (Bill Hader) talks him into taking a trip to put some distance between himself and the bad memories. Unfortunately, the 2,500 miles between Los Angeles and Hawaii isn't far enough, as he arrives at the ritzy resort he chooses is the exact one that Sarah and her new even-more-famous rock star boyfriend (Russell Brand) have picked for their own getaway. Faced with his worst nightmare, Peter refuses to go home and "let her win," but as he begins to fall for a beautiful and sympathetic customer service rep (Mila Kunis), his Hawaiian vacation shows signs of being just what he needs to move on…assuming he can forget Sarah Marshall.

Segel's debut film fits right in with what's come to be known as the Apatow "brand": crackling comic dialogue mixed with equal parts raunch and heart. Segel's Peter is a loveable loser, a fellow whose misery is easy to sympathize with, even if we can spot the ways he's sabotaging himself long before he does. The first half of the film plays out in the time-honored manner of sadistic writers everywhere, making Peter think he's hit bottom early on, only to realize that this particular pit has a retractable floor and a one-way elevator. The only thing Peter wants to do is forget about Sarah, and every new twist and turn finds new ways to make that act completely impossible. This section of the movie is great fun, but is ultimately only a better version of a formula we've all seen many times before. Where the film really finds its stride is as Peter and new flame Rachel (Kunis) begin to fall for each other, and Sarah, seeing Peter's burgeoning happiness, begins to question her own. The four-way dynamic between Peter, Rachel, Sarah, and easygoing rocker Aldous (Brand) defines the second half of the movie, and earns major points by not making any of the characters easy villains, but simply complicated, screwed-up human beings. As much as Peter wants to hate Aldous, it proves impossible. For all his faults, Aldous never pretends to be something he's not, and goes out of his way to be decent to Peter and make the best of a bad situation. The more we find out about Peter and Sarah's relationship, the more we realize that Peter and Sarah are the polar opposites of Aldous and Rachel—neither of them are comfortable with who they are, and their scapegoating of each other for that fact is what doomed their relationship. Even the seemingly content Rachel, who challenges Peter to figure out just what the hell he wants out of life, proves to be more than just a convenient tool to drive Peter's arc—she's got her own share of baggage. Anyone who's ever seen a romantic comedy will have little trouble figuring out which girl will win this particular Betty-versus-Veronica clash, but Segel's script never gives us the easy out of letting us hate Sarah.

Nor does Segel's screenplay service only the core foursome. Segel makes every supporting playing with a speaking part offbeat and distinct , even if they're only there to make us chuckle. Subplots such as the newlywed husband (30 Rock's Jack McBrayer) who can't quite get the hang of his boudoir duties, the starstruck maitre d' (Superbad's Jonah Hill), or the loopy surf instructor whose teaching method is zen to the point of being incomprehensible all help flesh out the world behind the love quadrangle.

However, there can be too much of a good thing, and while the supporting cast is hysterical, Segel's script probably could have done without one or two of them. While Forgetting Sarah Marshall only clocks in at 111 minutes, the pacing could use a shot in the arm. Segel's done a great job crafting a menagerie of eccentrics, and you can tell he's become maybe just a tad too attached to them, resulting in the occasional scene that steps aside to spend time with the supporting cast at the expense of keeping things moving forward. Still, it's a testament to Segel's writing chops that even when we're watching a scene that doesn't actually have much to do with the story, we're too busy laughing to mind.

After a few fun-but-uneven forays from the House of Apatow (Walk Hard, Drillbit Taylor), Forgetting Sarah Marshall takes things back to the heights of last summer's Knocked Up and Superbad, and gives us a writing debut in Segel that proves that Apatow's eye for talent may just be the best in the business.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Universal Pictures
Rated R; 111 min.

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David Michael Wharton is managing editor of CS Weekly and a contributing editor of Creative Screenwriting. He hasn't forgotten Sarah Marshall, but he can't seem to remember where he put his car keys.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall courtesy Universal Pictures

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