Forgetting Sarah Marshall

A musician (Jason Segel) travels to Hawaii to recover from a recent break-up with his girlfriend (Kristen Bell), only to discover she’s staying at the same resort with her new rock star boyfriend.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a surprisingly warm and funny film about relationships that benefits from an honest script and a good supporting cast.

The script, written by star Jason Segel, features several painfully honest moments, from Segel’s character’s trailing of his ex and her new beau to their fumbled attempt at reconciliation. Further, the humor derived from these situations never feels forced, resulting in a film that should have substantial replay value.

As honest as the majority of the script is though, it still feels false when it comes to Kristen Bell’s character. The script affords her absolutely no sympathy, and it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to be with her, which in turn kinda upsets the film’s whole premise. While Bell herself may possess enough charisma to overcome the script’s unflattering portrait, we’ll never know, as she doesn’t get a chance show it.

Fortunately, you don’t have a lot of time to think about it thanks to the terrific supporting cast. Russell Brand steals all his scenes as Kristen Bell’s character’s new boyfriend, putting forth a devilish charm that endears him to the audience while making his and Bell’s relationship plausible. It’s refreshing how the script doesn’t paint him as a one-dimensional baddie, and Brand goes the extra mile to make him damn entertaining. Also enjoyable are Jonah Hill as a star-struck waiter, and Paul Rudd as a ditzy surfer.