Synopsis:

Peter Bretter (played by the film's writer Jason Segel) is a music writer.  Peter primarily writes background music tracks for network television shows.  Peter is in a long time relationship with Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell).  Sara is the star of one such show, Crime Scene.  The film begins with Sarah crushing Peter by breaking up with him in a manner all too visual to describe here.  Devastated Peter, with the helpful advice of his brother Brian (Bill Hader), decides to take a Hawaiian vacation in order to better deal with the recent break-up.  Little does he know Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.  Meeting up with the resort worker Rachel (Mila Kunis), Peter struggles to get over his ex and start to live life again.

The Freak's Rating: A : Growing up as a child of the 80s, raunch comedy was where it was at back then.  The Porky's franchise thrived in theaters, putting a dirty spin on a Grease-ish high school.  The entire goal of the comedy films I grew up on was to see a girl naked.  Seeing a bare shot of a topless woman was considered comedy.  The storylines of those films are worthless for the most part and the movie was considered successful if the lead guy hooked up with the blonde cheerleader.  Comedy goes through spurts of creativity in theatrical releases.  There was slapstick in the 50s, raunch in the 80s, gross out in the 90s and now Judd Apatow in the 2000s.  Judd Apatow has had a hand in nearly every successful comedy this decade, from Superbad, to Knocked Up and now into Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Apatow stays consistent with comedic talent in his casting, keeping most of the same actors throughout his films. 

I didn't know exactly what to expect with this film.  Superbad was pure raunch, with an interestingly tender sincerity.  The 40 Year Old Virgin depended upon the raunch, rather than a story for success and in my opinion failed.  When I heard that some of the critics I trusted loved it, I decided we must see it opening night.  I was not let down at all.

Where Forgetting Sarah Marshall succeeds over movies with similar storylines is that it is truly genuine in certain moments.  Hearing Peter express his sadness over the loss of his girlfriend using a tupperware container as a metaphor for how good she was to him is hysterical.  Flashbacks are scattered throughout the film and their influence on character development is far superior to that of most romantic comedies.  You do truly care for the characters in this film. 

Mila Kunis is as cute as can be as Rachel, but wears a tad too much makeup at some moments in the film, looking supertan and a little orange.  Paul Rudd is perfectly cast as a stoner surfer dude and Jonah Hill (of Superbad) does a great turn as a resort attendant with a little more than a man crush on Sarah's new love interest.  Acting is top notch all around and Bill Heder, who only has a few short lines in the movie, fires on all cylinders.  I was laughing out loud multiple times in this one and would rank this one right up there with my favorite romantic comedies ever. 

Lori's Rating: A : This has potty humor, but it kept me laughing.  It was sort of predictable but the humor kept you wanting more.  I can still think of parts of the movie and start laughing almost to a cry.  It has been a long time since that has happened. 

Jen's Rating: C+ : I don't know what it was about this movie but it didn't leave an impression.  To me there were lots of parts where they were trying too hard to be funny and it was predictable.  Not only that but the blonde (Sarah Marshall) was annoying to me.  Maybe I just wasn't in a good mood when I watched it but to me it seemed a little dull and lacking.  Sorry for bringing the overall rating down, honey!

Sebastian's Rating: B : well as much as i absoluetly loved the 40 year old virgin, knocked up, and superbad, i don't think this movie had as much of an impact.

Yes, it does have potty humor, but it just wasn't at all that funny. i laughed at a few bits but thinking over it today, i can't really remember what they were.

Now this movie wasant bad, but it was great, however the storyline was good and i loved that way peter expressed his sadness... and it shwos the truth about breaking up.

As said eariler, i still believe this could have been funnier, so i'll have to leave it at a B

Brian's Rating: D+ : I am with Jen on this one.  This movie is entirely forgettable.  The characters were not interesting in the least, and where the characters being over the top was supposed to be funny, I instead found it terribly annoying.  The situational comedic moments that actually made me laugh were few and far between.  Perhaps if the movie was actually good, then other parts would be funnier.  Like going to see a comedy act after you got fired, it just doesn't work.  I did think it was hilarious how they made fun of CSI, and the other lol moment for me was when he applied self-loathing to a song on his piano.  Other than that, I was mostly just hoping it would end.

On top of all that I found the use of bad sets to be very distracting, and downright ridiculous on the part of the director.  Scenes on the ocean were clearly using a green screen since the long hair wasn't blowing despite the plant life in the background showing a stiff ocean breeze.  I do not know why they did these scenes on a set since they were clearly on location for other parts, but if they are going to use a set, then at least try a little bit to make it realistic.  Turn on a $4 fan from Wal-mart at the least.  There were a couple scenes on a surfboard where the water was as still as a swimming pool despite the very near background showing large waves and surfers riding them. 

The poor production quality, along with annoying roles, and mediocre writing are enough to drive this into the D range.  Its not as bad as Wedding Singer, but certainly nothing I would watch again.

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