Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Director:

Nicholas Stoller

Writer (WGA):

Jason Segel (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

From the guys who brought you "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up"

Plot:

Devastated Peter takes a Hawaii vacation in order to deal with recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Resort | Hotel | Luau | Rock Star

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 27

10:00 PM

MAX

Cast

Jason Segel	...	Peter Bretter
Kristen Bell	...	Sarah Marshall
Mila Kunis	...	Rachel Jansen
Russell Brand	...	Aldous Snow
Bill Hader	...	Brian Bretter
Liz Cackowski	...	Liz Bretter
Maria Thayer	...	Wyoma
Jack McBrayer	...	Darald
Taylor Wily	...	Kimo
Davon McDonald	...	Dwayne the Bartender (as Da'Vone McDonald)
Steve Landesberg	...	Dr. Rosenbaum
Jonah Hill	...	Matthew the Waiter
Paul Rudd	...	Chuck
Kala Alexander	...	Greg
Kalani Robb	...	Helpful Hawaiian Waiter

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.

Runtime:

111 min | 118 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hawaiian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Ireland:15A | USA:R (certificate #44109) | Norway:11 | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Japan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:Btl | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Argentina:16 | Peru:14 | Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Apatow Productions

Trivia:

Screenwriter and star Jason Segel told New York Times interviewer Dave Itzkoff that both the naked breakup and Dracula puppet musical scenes were drawn from his real life experiences. In the article, Segel admitted that he really did once have a girlfriend who broke up with him while he was completely naked (although rather than being devastated during it, he thought to himself, "This is hilarious. I cannot wait for her to leave so I can write this down.") And before he was a successful actor, Segel tried to write a musical adaptation of "Dracula" for puppets.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Mathew the waiter is giving his demo to Aldous Snow, the cake and several napkins on the tray he brought disappear by the end of the scene.

Quotes:

Sarah Marshall: When were you planning on telling me this?
Aldous Snow: I just told you, then.
Sarah Marshall: Yeah. No, I know. But telling me now isn't really the same as telling me.
Aldous Snow: Well, look, you know, I've not told you I've got genital herpes, because it's not inflamed at the moment...

Movie Connections:

References You Got Served (2004)

Soundtrack:

Nothing Compares 2 U

A miraculous movie!

I normally do not go out for sappy, romantic roller coaster romantic fare; and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (FSM) pretty much falls under the romantic "date flick" rubric.

And I can't, for the life of me, quite figure out why I liked this so much. I guess the filmmakers succeed in making the welter of comic bits, scenes, and images come across like genuine romantic sweet chaos. How they succeeded is beyond my comprehension.

And maybe that's the point. Some films are good, some are bad, and some are sort of like miracles. Their power is inexplicable; and that's how FSM felt to me.

It was boffo, a bit over-the-top, a tad muddled, a mix of character study, revelation, and farce. And, as things unfolded, by dint of pacing and sheer comic/character acting power, I came to really care about the characters; and I loved it! I glowed through most of FSM.

Here's a way of looking at it: FSM was sort of like Shakespearean romantic farce. Maybe that explains why I liked it; because my mind already has a little engine for processing this kind of narrative stuff, built up from past experiences watching Shakespeare In The Park!

It also comes down to artistic sincerity. Most romance flicks are a little insulting because they're not sincere. There was something, in the end, believable and therefore redeeming about the characters and their silly little Hawaiian comedy of errors and feints.

And that's a miracle, in my book! This is not an ordinary date flick.