Forgetting Sarah Marshall

So after extending far too much effort, I was FINALLY able to catch Forgetting Sarah Marshall last night. And let me say, it was absolutely phenomenal. It's very rare that I see a movie and say "I'm going to have to get this when it comes out on DVD" -- even when I enjoy it. But that was exactly what I was thinking following this film.

On top of that -- and this is a comment I'm sure some of you have come to expect from me -- but Mila Kunis was positively STUNNING. I've always found her hot, but in the time between this and the end of That 70's Show, she has grown into a rather gorgeous young lady. Little Miss Bilson may have a little competition.

I also loved Jason Segel's Dracula voice. Even if you haven't seen the film, I think you'd enjoy this YouTube video, of "Dracula's Lament" performed by Sesame Street's The Count:



Anyway, if you've seen the movie, click below for my spoilery thoughts. If you haven't, GO SEE IT NOW! Then read what I thought.

While my Cartoon Wars post may suggest that I can appreciate and enjoy a comedy even if it doesn't have much of a story, my standards are a little stricter when it comes to movies. After all, you're paying money to watch a movie. And unlike when you're watching a television program from the comfort of your home (where you can distract yourself with other tasks), when you're at the movies, the film really needs to keep you entertained.

And that's perhaps what I liked most about Sarah Marshall: In addition to being absolutely hilarious, it was also a really sweet story at its core. On top of that, the central characters felt real. Instead of making Sarah a one-dimensional cheating bitch, the viewer came to understand that while she truly did love Peter, his lack of ambition and direction made him an impossible person to be with. This didn't make her sympathetic, per se (nor was it supposed to), it just made her real.

Along with that, the whole relationship between Peter and Rachel (wow, what are the chances that Mila Kunis' character would be named "Rachel"?) wasn't completely out there. For example, while I found the relationship between Elisha Cuthbert (another immensely beautiful actress) and Emile Hirsch in The Girl Next Door cute, it just didn't ring as realistic to me. It's like, "Yeah, this incredibly hot PORN STAR just moved next door and conveniently and immediately falls in love with the dorky, good natured kid next door. That happens ALLLL the time!"

I didn't feel that way with Rachel and Peter. The one scene where the bartender says to Peter "You thought that was a date? She works in customer service" was pretty dead on. The fact is, she DOES work in customer service and she does get paid to be flirtatious and nice. I find it completely believable that at first, she was just being nice to Peter, but came to really enjoy his personality and company, developing their relationship into something deeper.

And while Aldous wasn't necessarily the most realistic person in the world, he was absolutely, positively hilarious. I LOVED the scene of him teaching the awkward married guy sex moves using the giant chess pieces. His facial expression when Sarah was having sex with him, just to try to make Peter jealous, was equally priceless.

I also really enjoyed the flashbacks, with Sarah slowly realizing that Peter really was a great guy, while Peter discovers that things weren't all that great with Sarah.

My favorite part of the movie was probably the dinner scene, just because it was so multi-layered. The meal began with Peter and Aldous hitting it off, mostly through their criticism of Sarah's last movie. Meanwhile, Sarah and Rachel are getting along, with Rachel defending the premise of the film. However, as Rachel and Peter get chummier, things between Sarah and Aldous get a bit more hostile (most notably with Aldous' poor treatment of his shirt). From there, Peter starts to sympathize with Sarah, who starts acting quite chilly towards Rachel, leading to some hostile jabs between the two ladies. By the end of the scene, we came to realize that Rachel is sweet, what's going on between her and Peter is genuine, and the relationship between Aldous and Sarah isn't.

Anybody who has seen this video can also find the great humor in not-Alec Baldwin's performance on Crime Scene.

Movie highly, highly recommended.

Oh, and this is also a must-see for anybody wondering what Jason Segel's penis looks like.