Pajiba

First! Oh my, what do I do? Um, I'd like to thank my keyboard, I couldn't have done it without you. My Refresh icon, word up brother. My mom, love you. To all the other commenters out there, I love all of you, thank you so much. Great review Dan, you're awesome.

Congrats Manny, you deserve it.

Glad to hear that this is good. I like Apatow's work, and I hated to see it seemingly crash & burn so quickly. This, and the fact that Pineapple Express looks fucking hilarious, should hold the haters at bay a little while.

Mila will always be Rachael to me though.

I haven't read this yet but - - I will be so happy when they stop advertising this movie. It is EVERYWHERE. It was funny at first but yesterday I saw three cabs accross a three lane street and all of them read "My mom ALWAYS hated you Sarah Marshall." Too much.

I am SO excited to see this. This week I started watching Freaks and Geeks (yeah, my pajiba card is gonna get revoked by this startling confession)and I'm getting a little bit of a crush on Segel.

I was going to see this film regardless due to the magical flamboyant presence of Sir Russell Brand... I shall be sorry to glance elsewhere in his scenes.

Finally! It's about time a good movie came out!

If you like Segel, Gunter, you should check him in the movie SLC Punk. He plays this nerdy punker guy who wants to be a botanist and is inexplicably driven to violent outbursts at punk shows. He is damn sexy in some horn-rimmed glasses, lemmetellsya.
It's not the best movie ever, but it's entertaining and holds a certain nostalgic value for me from my wannabe punk high school days.

I loved this movie (sneak peek last week - oh, the rhymes!). It was so funny and sweet, plus, I got to see my 8th grade soul mate Nick Andopolis naked. God, I love to see famous people naked...is that wrong of me?

ahh thanks Jess for the recommendation - despite my lengthy (and growing bigger every day) netflix q I am always looking for new stuff.

First? Well, big whoop, Manny. Nobody ever says "last", do they?

Think about that.

I've checked pajiba about 8 times today hoping to see this review.
and now i've read it.
and i'm PUMPED

I haven't been so excited about a movie in awhile. At first, I was iffy on seeing it and was really only going because I LOVE kristin bell, but then, as I continued to watch previews, I thought "you know, I really do like Jason Segal even if all he ever does is Judd Apatow films"
and hey, maybe that's not his fault.
but it probably is.
and this review made me want to see it for solid.
sweet.

I was on the fence due to the Apatow MegaMash earlier this year, but this is what sold me:

Jack McBrayer's sexually frustrated honeymooner.

I have no idea what that would actually look like, or even if it is funny, But I am going to find out dammit.

Filthy, filthy dreams about Mila and Kristen may have also played a part. And possibly that one about Segel, but I swear it started out as a brunch and just got..weird.

Aw, Veronica Mars grows up and becomes a (bigger) vindictive bitch!
But in all honesty, this one I'll definitely check out while its still playing, a film featuring the most talked about penis on screen since Viggo's little Johnny in Eastern Promises.

Horray, I was not expecting this to be good. On the other hand there is no way any of my friends will want to go see it and there is no way I am going to see it by myself, that would just be sad. I guess I need to find a girl before this thing's theater run ends. Hmmm...

That's okay, Vermillion. I dreamt I slept in the same bed as Ricky Gervais the other night. I was like a lodger, and I had a massive record collection. Any explanations welcome.

Is it wrong to admit I was kind of disappointed when I woke up and realised I was me?

besides the dude`s little dude, is there any FEMALE NUDITY? Something for us horny dogs that will be dragged to this?

This movie made me happy, and with none of the guilt and shame that usually comes with standard cinema fare.

Segel is my favorite on Freaks & Geeks and How I Met Your Mother, so I'm extremely glad that this doesn't suck.

I think I'll have to just pretend that Walk Hard didn't happen and let Apatow's name continue on untarnished.

you know, I really do like Jason Segal even if all he ever does is Judd Apatow films

He's on How I Met Your Mother! He's very funny on it too.

You know, this situation totally happened to me. I went on vacation to Mexico with my sister and ran into my ex and his new girlfriend. Staying at the same resort. It fucking sucked.

I will be so happy when they stop advertising this movie. It is EVERYWHERE.

DITTO. I'm sick to death of seeing the commercials, and I almost never watch TV. Sorry, but I'm already well over this, so I definitely won't see it.

He's on How I Met Your Mother! He's very funny on it too.

ok, i totally forgot about that. but also don't watch that show.

but still. i do really like him. I was reminded when he was soooooooooo creepy in Knocked Up.
Seriously. Jason Segel might have been the best part of that movie the second time when you already knew what was going to happen.

I wanted to see this so much more when I realized the rock star new boyfriend was NOT played by Colin Hanks.

I don't know what it is about Apatow that I find a little meh. I just don't identify with the characters or the culture I suppose. Yep, that's it. I'll probably watch it when I'm bored enough. I also don't get HIMYM. Tried to watch it, got bored, end of story.

On a completely unrelated note, I just came from a club...I'm smelling of cigarette smoke. Damn the Dutch and their backwards smoking laws! Yea, I did say it was unrelated, didn't I?

Sorry can't see this one. I fucking hate Russell Brand. Out of all the comedians in Britain why would Apatow and co. choose that stinking pile of mediocraty.

Worthless possibly true trivia...

Supposedly Mila Kunis learned English from watching Bob Barker on The Price is Right.

It is so good. So incredibly good.

Last post!

Wait, absurdist boar slaughter?

Eeek.

To the three people out there who may have doubts about the movie, I'd pay just to watch Russell Brand as Aldous Snow again.

He is - certifiably, hilariously, ecumenically - THE man.

I don't know if I'll see it as Daniel explained perfectly regarding the overdosing of Apatow. They have been hyping it everywhere (I've seen those same cabs, tt_marie) and I was bored with Superbad. I turned off the DVD halfway through and didn't bother to finish it.

Segal was great in SLC Punk...remember when he fucked up those car windshields? One right after the other. Awesome.

I'm glad this got a good review, especially since I've been invited to go see it this weekend. I hate wasting my money, even at somewhere as good as the Alamo.

Now when is the review for Young at Heart coming out? I saw it tonight and thought it was fantastic. And I kind of wanted to fly to Massachusetts, kidnap Bob Cilman, and make him my personal sex monkey. Does that make me weird?

First movie I've been to since Christmas and I was among 5 or 6 people in the theater. It was funny,a little smutty, clever, and too long. Other than that, I laughed a lot and have sort of a mancrush on Segel. I have no clue who Russell Brand is and why the hate, but he was very funny as the rockstar loved by men and women. Mila Kunis very pretty, never paid much attention to her on TV so I was surprised. My favorite is the Dracula puppet musical--thanks for the great review.

Rica-- You know, I always forgot about How I Met Your Mother, just didn't make any effort to watch it until one day I happened to catch an episode and found it was hilarious.

So of course Fox reschedules House to 8 pm Mondays... I must be the last TV-watching person without DVR.

Please forgive me for not being part of the crowd on this latest 'Apatow creation', nor any others that came before it (altho Brie gave me an excellent oportunity to barge in).

It's late, I'm drunk, so it's the best time to shoot my mouth off.

Granted, I've only seen a single episode of 'Freaks & Geeks', and I'm sure that's just a fine work unto itself, no bashing here.

But what I'm thinking now is, '40 Year Old Virgin'? 'Knocked Up'? 'Superbad'??? People, I've seen all this shit: Seth Rogan is a badly re-animated, droll and lifeless makeover of a supposed John Belushi-like character, except without any trace of his humor or personality, am I right? And don't that frakkin' fat kid who gets all the smartass lines in 'Superbad' wear his welcome out in the first 10 minutes of the film?

C'mon, be honest. You watch any of this above-listed crap at home on DVD, without the benefit of an already dumbed-down, laughing audience you'd expect in a film that one has no choice but to laugh at (even at the suggestion of a joke, just to break the silence), and you can finally admit to yourself how vapid, how stupid and juvenile everything Judd's (nasty bowel comment) has turned out to be, with the distance of time and re-viewing, if you're that masochistic.

I'm sorry, going a little ballistic here. It's just that I thought I really knew what comedy was when I saw it lo so many years ago (Blazing Saddles, The Jerk, Tootsie, etc), and this Apatow crap, what with the improvisation that falls flat, the non-linear approach that never lets you know of any concrete motivations in story-telling (that night in 'Superbad' must have lasted 14 hours! By the time they got to the party everyone would have been gone!!), and I'm going way beyond my depth here at 3:15am & after a 12-pack to rant about the 'Scary Movie' franchise & all the others I can't think of now, but my point is:

These guys today, the Apatows, the Adam Sandlers-cum-Seinfeldian-Ray-Romanoish 'meh' comics that either indulge in feature films or are just given the opportunity to splatter their 'wit' onscreen (then fuck it up completely)... they just don't seem to be cuttin' it. They don't really seem to grasp what it takes to translate their unique humor to the big screen, and they always come up short.

Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams (make your own list) generally just totally fuck up their careers and credentials as innovative, genuinely funny people, all for the sake of giving up their comedic souls to be on the big screen. People actually beleive Ben Stiller is a funny person, although roughly any male actor could play the same roles he's done and-

shit, goodnight & thanx for letting me vent

I love her to death, but an someone pleasepleaseplease tell Kristen Bell to look into ONE eye of her co-star and not BOTH eyes?!?! Poor thing looked cross-eyed the whole movie.

Otherwise, great flick. Ranks higher than Knocked Up & Superbad, just a smidge below 40yo Virgin.

Sharon, Young at Heart has already been reviewed here (quite beautifully, I might add). Think it was posted a few days ago, so you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it.

TMax, I guess I disagree. I do still think Apatow is funny. I was raised on Murphy and Martin and co., but I'm not bound by those comedic guidelines. I also think it's unfair to lump them in with the "Movie" franchises and Adam Sandler's recent disasters.

But then again, people are allowed different opinions. It's a shame that you don't seem to feel the same way.

He looks handsome. I saw him on "S e e k i n g R i c h . c o m " last week. Is he single now? Just curious.You can contact him on that site.

Yay! Now I can go see this.

I saw a free screening of this a couple of weeks back and I was delighted. I'm glad that Nick Andapolis can hold his own in this crazy movie world.

I enjoy Apatow. If only for the company he keeps. I like being about to see a rotating group of performers in different roles. Bit of Kevin Smith vibe about it. Plus the commentaries are fantastic. I love when it's a group of friends just kind of talking and laughing about all the great things that they can remember from filming. Yeah the Fincher ones are interesting, but it's the inside jokes and cool stories from filming I want to hear about. It kind of makes an outsider feel like they're on the inside.

But there's a line. You can't just go up to them and be all, "Hey Jonah, remember the time when you were filming Superbad and you totally bitched out that kid and he didn't know it was a joke? Haaaaahahahahahaha!" Because then Jonah will be concerned and possibly take out a restraining order after quietly asking restaurant security to remove you from the premises immediately and then they'll shut down your ILOVEJONAH website (I hear he's on S e e k i n g R i c h . c o m) and confiscate all of your ILOVEJONAH memorabilia.

Just be careful I guess.

How many of these "chubby loser still in adolescence but oh look he's slowly maturing and his girlfriend is a 1000 times out of his league" coming of age stories with the same annoying people in it (Cera, Hill, Rudd etc) are Apatow and Co going to keep churning out? The formula seems to be working pretty well now, but will it still be funny 10, 20 "same heartfelt moral, same fat oaf character but with a different hottie" movies from now? And holy crap, are Hill et al joined at the bloody hip or something? It's all right if Paul Rudd doesn't make a cameo in all of your movies, guy, a new face or two might be nice.

Oh, and I love James Franco (even though his mouth does that weird thing sometimes when he talks) and can't wait for Pineapple Express.

Word.

Saw it last night and totally agree - charming and sweet (and was that the crew from AVENUE Q doing the puppetry? Because that would be awesome.

ON another note - what is the deal with the haters still on the "chubby loser still in adolescence but oh look he's slowly maturing and his girlfriend is a 1000 times out of his league" tick? I don't get your beef with this plotline - do you know how many smoking hot women I know who are with sweet-but-shlubby manchildren? A LOT.

It's not that hard a concept - Lady Smokin'hot gets tired of playing the pretty-boy game, meets Mr. OvergrownClassClown, and finds his childlike attitude refreshing after dealing with Mr. CorporateRatRaceDudes 1 thru 15.

Makes sense to me... and none of these guys are circus freaks, anyway! Give me a Seth Rogen over Ryan Phillipe ANY DAY.

Tammy, I don't think it's one or the other. There's also Mr.CuteNerdWithHisShitTogether or Mr.BestFriendSuddenlyTurnedHot or Mr.GoofyYetMature. I could go on all day. Let's not oversimplify here.

The point is all of Apatow's characters are basically the same and it gets boring. I also don't see why the women in his films tend to be exponentially hotter than the guys (with the exception of Paul Rudd). Why doesn't he ever have some minger end up with Paul Rudd?

Chubby Loser???

Gosh, I always thought Jason Segel was pretty frakkin' hot.

I guess it ust depends on what your type is, I guess.

I too loath Apatow's creations. His humor never seems funny to me, maybe I had that mythical "normal" life so none of the emotional triggers resonate? I don't know. I was dragged to this by my girlfriend and expected to suffer through it as I do with all the others (she also has the Freaks and Geeks on an altar in the living room)...and then Russell Brand took the screen...
He singlehandedly almost made the whole movie enjoyable for me. He transcended the crappy characters and dialogue surrounding him and ascended to the Mount from which he returned with tablets bearing the funny!
I now want to see Brand in every Apatow movie, so I have something to distract me from the rest of the puerile crap on screen.

If you don't like Apatow or his gang, that's fine. People like what they like (or don't). But in fairness, I saw the movie a while back for work, and I really didn't see the "loser inexplicably gets girl out of his league and suddenly grows up" plotline here.

My impression was that the main character starts the film as a good person coming out of a relationship that was bad for him in many ways. How many of us are at our best either in or just coming out of a toxic relationship?

Um, mild spoilers, I guess:

Then he becomes single, makes friends who like him as he is, is forced to change career paths, and gets involved with a kind-yet-tough girl who believes in him. Sure, it all happens kind of fast, but all these things help him to grow up and realize his potential.

So yeah, in my humble opinion, it's a little more coming-of-age than loser-gets-fantasy-girl. Think more 40-Year-Old-Virgin and less Superbad. Just my two cents. :)

Haven't read the review or a lot of the comments since I can guess, and being a Wes Anderson fan I certainly know how to not care, BUT let me add that the photos of Kristen Bell at the premiere were so pleasant in that she seemed to be naturally smiling and it was nice to look at. The smile she has on the cover of "Cosmopolitan", and which I've also seen elsewhere, really disturbs me. I can't figure out what's going wrong. The perfectly straight upper teeth in a wide mouth? Are her eyes expressionless? What is it? Very heebie jeebies. So I'm glad it was maybe just some weird photo shoots and she doesn't just smile like that period.

And Stoller and Segel are going to make a new Muppet movie? How weird, yet...endearing. I just want to go back to bed but I'll probably go see this tomorrow night. Glad to see there's a bit of talk happening on my weekend to work. My other brothers and sisters know it's a big sugar crash when this place dies on Saturday.

Thanks Michelle and Tmax! Finally some intelligent comments. The reviewers and fans on this site are always bitching about movies that are formulaic rehashing of the same tired old bullshit and anger that hollywood keeps churning them out. Then when the 'new' Apatow cum stain shows up you fall over yourselves raving about how great it is. The problem with these male characters is not that they don't look like Brad Pitt, have a six figure income or have goofy hobbies. The problem is they are: underemployed, have questionable hygiene, lazy, stupid, childish, think of women only as receptacles for their dicks or as possesions to show other men they aren't gay, only use humour to abuse, and have numerous childish hobbies that totally consume their lives. Yet somehow, good looking women are lining up to be with them. And the women are even worse stock characters then the men. The women are always pretty, painfully shrill, vapid, shallow, comically sexually aggresive, slutty, hve no female friends, drink too much and are in the end complete ball busting bitches. One wonders why even these stupid guys would bother with them. I guess it's because men and women are so desperate to not be alone they fall for the first loser the comes along (the women) and the first hot bitch who can barely stand to touch them (the men). Wow! Apatow movies are so realistic, they really speak to who I am. Apatow movies are only, and ever will be, the man child equivalent of a Nora Ephron chick flick.

Okay, whoa there, Jenn! You have to actively dislike Judd Apatow movies to make an intelligent comment? Careful how you word things there, unless you're trying to offend many of your fellow commenters.

I also disagree with your generalizations re. his male and female characters. Sure, there are some who fit your description, but many don't even come close. Carolyn Keener in "40-Year-Old Virgin," a vapid, shallow ball-buster? Michael Cera in "Superbad," disrespectful toward women? (I grant you, "Superbad" is not Apatow's most inoffensive film and is a bit over the top for my liking, but it's about hormone-laden teenagers, for pete's sake).

I'm not saying you have to enjoy his films for me to consider you intelligent, but I do think you should be careful of making such sweeping generalizations--toward movies and commenters.

Why do I have the sneaking suspicion the 3 shots of Segel's peen were a thinly veiled effort to keep getting him laid?

And is it wrong I was a bit ... unimpressed?

It is awfully convenient that the "intelligent comments" you laud happen to be the ones that agree with you.

MO says it best. You are generalizing both the movies and the folks on this site. As a matter of fact, there have been several discussions about Apatow's derivative formula, and many a commenter expressed their displeasure without resorting to insulting their opponents.

I guess it's because men and women are so desperate to not be alone they fall for the first loser the comes along (the women) and the first hot bitch who can barely stand to touch them (the men). Wow! Apatow movies are so realistic, they really speak to who I am.

Actually, I know about twenty people who would say that is an accurate description of their love lives. Congratulations for avoiding such pitfalls, though.

Still, you have the right to feel however you wish about the man's work. But at least afford us that do like them the same respect until such time that we actually PROVE we don't deserve it?

But this partisanship isn't the point.

The point is that it's Record Store Day!

So go give your local indie a few bucks and feel all warm inside.

I haven't seen this movie yet, but in defense of Apatow, I have known people like his protagonists my whole life and they never seem to be lacking for physically attractive female companions. The relationships never seem to last but that doesn't mean they don't exist. It might be a very small segment of American society that these movies are based around but the chord these movies strike seem to resonate rather loudly with a varied group of people. If you don't like his movies, more power to you. I really couldn't care less (that's not actually the truth or else I wouldn't be writing this) but dismissing the basic storylines of his movies (fat slob with hot girl) as being so farfetched as to be untrue is unfair to the fat slobs that this happens to (those bastards). Last time I checked this was America and we had some freedom that I plan on using. Clearly, anyone who disagrees with me is an un-American, pinko-commie, bastard-coated bastard with bastard feeling.

Don't you mean "Bastard-coated bastard with bastard FILLING"? Just checking.

I can't believe the same subject matter keeps getting rehashed, the can't-believe-the-schlub-gets-the-hot-girl schtick. It'a a movie people. How many decent actresses can you think of off the top of your head who aren't at least semi-cute, whether naturally or with a lot of make-up? Who else would be cast? You can discuss the unevenness of not go great looking men getting work in Hollywood when equivalent women do not, but this debate is stoopid. This could be another entry in the non-existant Pajiba FAQ's, along with misogyny, use of the word retard, Rainbow Killer, etc.

I'm going to approach this movie carefully. I like some of Apatow's movies, but not others. I was really excited for Superbad and when I finally saw it I thought it kind of sucked. But I sure do like Jason Segel, so that's a plus.

How this got 85% on Rotten Tomatoes is beyond me. If it wasn't for Mila Kunis and Kristin Bell being so adorably gorgeous it might have been bad. There are laughs here and there but there isn't enough consistency. The relationship between the characters just never reaches the levels that it did in Superbad and Knocked Up. And the funny stuff wasn't as funny as the stuff in those two movies either. I might be judging it based on the raised expectation levels that Apatow has earned. But I think reviewers are being a little blind to the movie's faults because Apatow's name is behind it.

How many movies about a man child expressing his pathos through either shrill or mothering women can one man make?

Why yes, Clara, I do like apples. Here's a little trick I learned from my dear Nana - I like to toss them in a litt...

Oh shit, wrong website... Uh, yeah... Apatow, um... misogynwhateveritscalled... Um freaky eyes and bikinis. Zombies, overated uh... and um... just filth in general. That'll work.

I'm intrigued. Tell me more about this, 'A-PA-TOW'.

MO, I must have missed the review! Thanks for pointing it out.

Regarding Sarah Marshall, I went and saw it this afternoon and thought it was pretty damn funny. Good way to spend the afternoon and I wasn't at all disappointed. So I'm happy.

Ha! Filling is exactly what I meant. I should really try for more than 3 hours of sleep a night. Stupid finals.

So. I saw this movie this afternoon. And other than the fact that Kristin Bell and Mila Kunis made me feel inferior as a woman because I'm not as attractive, I thought this movie was funny.
Really.

I was worried, at first. And, the James McAvoy + Angelina Jolie preview didn't help because it was right.before. the movie and I was kind of turned on but then I started watching it and it got funny. Super funny. Like. I didn't stop laughing until it got to the serious parts. All the people I went to the movies with also enjoyed it as well.
So yeah. This was legit.

Also, for those complaining about Jason Segel's nude scenes all I can say is...he's probably a grower not a shower!!!

and i've been drinking all night, forgive me.

So I saw Sarah Marshall tonight (I swear, I go 6 weeks without hitting the multiplex and now it's back-to-back) and I think the review misses the point of the movie.

Yes, Segel's Peter is a stunted half-adult/half-child. But so is every one of the other characters in this movie (Rachel who never went back to school or Sarah who has remained on a show she hates because it's a steady gig). None of them have grown the set to take the plunge into the next stage of their lives, choosing instead to remain in their comfortable shallow pool. The only difference is that the rock star Aldous and Rudd's surfer coach are the only ones happy with this lifestyle.

To me, the movie is about finding a person who gets you. Someone who would find it funny to hear about your Dracula puppet musical. (Or who understands why you hate bagels or why you have to get the high score in Guitar Hero or anything else). Peter thinks he has that with Sarah and mourns losing it. It's not until he's around Rachel (who with a smile and a nudge gets him moving forward) that he finds what he really wants and needs. And his arrival gets her out of her own malaise and towards her goals.

The only misstep for me is Jonah Hill. His character comes off as forced and unnecessary for the story. Worse, because he's Jonah Hill, you expect hilarity to ensue when he's around, but it doesn't. Paul Rudd fares better, but I do agree with whoever said it may be a good idea to rotate guys in and out of Apatow's movies. Otherwise that burnout will arrive faster.

Although I didn't see this movie and I don't have a clue about the plot and I don't even know who the director is or who the stars are. With that being said, I'll attemtp to review this movie with an open mind. This movie is a piece of shit. There.

I was dragged to see this by some friends of mine; with much trepidation, because although I had liked 40-Year-Old Virgin, I hated Knocked Up and Superbad even worse.

The reasons I hated them have been discussed ad nauseum, but in short, the female characterizations generally lacked both empathy and sympathy and the portrayal of relationships (whether average, hoped for or ideal) were overly stylized, in a negative and rather unfunny way overall. The comedy in Superbad was offensive in some cases (perhaps an 18 year old kid can be excused for fearing menstrual blood, but any of you guys over 30--fucking get over it. Grow up. Be a man.)

So, getting back to Sarah Marshall. I was prepared for the worst, especially because the previews weren't that good. And...

What can I say? I freaking LOVED this movie. All of the characters were sympathetically portrayed, even when we were laughing at their pain. The women were individuals, rather than charicatures, with strength, kindness, vulnerability, and fallibility--in contrast to Knocked Up, these women were not expected to carry the weight of these man-children. The were not held to a higher standard than the men in the movie. I was expecting a portrait of the evil too-hot ex-girlfriend, and was pleased to see that even Sarah Marshall was written and played as a character with understandable fallibility, who did some pretty bad things to Peter, but not entirely without provocation.

I actually found the thesis of this movie to be in direct contrast to that in Knocked Up, which suggests that two people can find a way to make it work, even when they have nothing in common, and barely know each other, "for the sake of the children" or whatever, and that all relationships on some level are just a matter of resigning yourself to it (like Paul Rudd's characters marriage). In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the problems faced by the characters are less a matter of people behaving well or badly than a matter of people being well or ill suited to each other. There isn't really the suggestion that Peter and Sarah could have made it if he hadn't been a man-child or if she hadn't been a bitch (which she wasn't, really).

In fact, the one issue I'll take with Daniel's review is that I don't see Peter as an Apatowian man-child at all. He's a guy who has gotten into some lazy habits after working from home (dude, I worked from home for a while, and I stayed in my pj's too, and I'm a well-put-together woman with excellent hygiene...it happens to the best of us). The problem with the response people have to Apatow, and partly because it's the problem with Apatow himself, is that maturity is conceived as a state to be achieved, preferably in one's mid-thirties. In real life, we all grow and learn throughout our lives. I'd find his characterizations more sympathetic and believable if they looked at the culture of perpetual adolescence and how that can retard the self-realization for hapless young men and women... This was the ideal set up in 40-Year-Old Virgin and I'm glad to see it has been explored with the same sympathy in Sarah Marshall.

Excellent point BFFredo, and you certainly saved me the time of typing something like that, probably not as eloquently stated.

I don't get the generalization with Apatow women being ball busters or vapid at all. I think you have to take a pretty narrow glance at Sarah or Rachel to think they are one-dimensional from what I saw. Sara's scene with Peter at the bar after she tells them the show was canceled was a pivotal scene that gave depth, but it did take a while to get to it. Rachel had regrets about following a boyfriend to Hawaii and putting her life on hold by staying at working at Turtle Bay, but it wasn't beaten into you.

Personally I think Apatow's troupe does a great job of showing flaws to all of his major characters instead of having a classic antagonist. Instead they highlight the much more realistic dichotomy of people who mean well, with issues, that in some cases they don't even realize how deep they go until someone points it out. If you can't relate to that, you probably intimidate people with your perfection. I love this approach rather than the good guy bad guy thing. I don't really think life is that simple in most cases.

Jen, your analyst of this movie is spot on. With the advent of the internet and cell phones that can take pictures we have been dumb down. Technology has replaced the art of dating. If you have a good myspace page you can make yourself out to be anything you want and you can get the ladies. The Virgins aren't to blame, they don't really know about the good things that sex can provide. To many ladies want a man to be the knight, but if she don't want sex then she has to get away from me. Movies are not the best teachers about sex.

This movie restored my faith in Kristen Bell.

(poor movie, starting at less than zero with the depressing bizarro string of trailers for all the movies I don't want to see, excepting "Pineapple Express". Way to bum me out, man)

(then after...)

It was funny. Both The Smiths AND Belle & Sebastian, not to mention some love for the King Diamond. That was a good time.

(whatever with the leads, I'm down with Maria Thayer)

My issue with the Apatowian oeuvre is that, while the men and women are both flawed, only the men are permitted to be flawed both internally and externally. The women may have some depth but, damn, they'd better look good. I'd also like to see a movie where a less-good-looking woman dates a great-looking dude where it's not the point of the whole damn movie, you know, like that movie....[crickets].

Somebody expressed a preference for Seth Rogen over a guy like Ryan Philippe. Again, this classification seems typical: all women, regardless of depth or intelligence, have to be good-looking, yet good-looking guys must be douchebags or stupid or not "get it" somehow. Well, Philippe may be a bit of a philanderer, but he seems to have some maturity and, by all accounts, is an excellent father to his two children. He strikes me as a man where Rogen strikes me as a man-child.

I love Jason Segel, Judd Apatow, Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up, et al., but I refuse to watch HIMYM. It sucks as bad as According to Jim and Two and A Half Men.
And I will see FSM.

Afterwards...

If people do like this and it makes "Walk Hard" turn into "Pop" or "Rattle and Hum" well.....well I'm not gonna like that very much!

(and I like those albums a lot)

I'm glad Dan gave Jason the deserved credit (well, Pajiba reviews are spoilery. Didn't want to read any jokes at all beforehand if I knew I was going already).

Wakeful: I'd either have my feelings hurt by your saying my enjoyment of seeing movies alone is sad, or I'd say that you're wrong and you're gonna miss out on a lot of fun if you restrict yourself like that.

The latter!!

(plus that completely avoids the possibility of popcorn filching. you damn well better not touch my popcorn or fries. male, female, alien: get your damn own.)

(no, really, I can't stand when people say "but no one'll go with me". That there is noise needing to be fucked.)

I don't care how good this one is, the advertising campaign went round the twist on this film. They've gotten enough of my attention with the damn posters everywhere, they're not getting my money.

Things I like about Forgetting Sarah Marshall

* If the absurdist boar humor scene had been in a Ben Stiller, Will Ferrel or Adam Sandler scene, you could be sure of several things.

a) it would have been shot at a wider angle - thus removing any mystery and exposing to possible CGI flaws - removing us (or at least me) from the cinematic world....
b) someones crotch would have been injured
c) it would have lasted at least a minute or 2 (as opposed to FSM quick flash.

As it was the scene was quick, dark and left a great amount to the imagination, despite being surreal it was so brief it was almost as though it wasn't there - except it was

*Second, all the characters are smart in their own ways. They all have both good sides and bad sides and everyone believes they are doing what is morally right - for them. Narratively, this is what divides this sort of film from say...an Austin Powers or a Ben Stiller, if the bad guy/girl is sympathetic it adds a healthy dash of realism and depth.

*Gosh what can I say, spending an hour or so in a movie with this acting troupe is like hanging out with my roommates boyfriend and co in college (complete with Pearl Necklace humor) It makes me feel at home.

Love it.

Some interesting notes: Supposedly Jason Segal wrote this about/after breaking up with Linda Cardellini. Kristen Bell has independent control of her eyes (she can get one to look forward while the other one moves side to side), which I saw on Craig Ferguson, and sometimes she has trouble controlling it when she gets tired. I noticed it strongly only on one of her close-ups.
I laughed a lot during this movie, but I wasn't really invested in the Peter/Rachel relationship for no reason that I can figure out.

I could tell there was something weird with her eyes but I hadn't known she's also a Fremen. That surprised me.

Did anyone else notice all the not so subtle digs they were taking at Kirsten Bell's career? It takes a pretty big person to deal with that.

Last week, I spotted Russell Brand and Morrissey having drinks together.

After collecting myself from seeing Moz in person, I got immediately got annoyed by Brand who was strutting around the bar patio BAREFOOT and readjusting his 1980s Motley Crue-esque jewelry and attire. I was like, oh that guy from 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is talking to Morrissey, weird pairing. My friend says Brand is huge in the UK, but still I found it strange that he (out of the blue) was at Morrissey's table.

Maybe since he's a comedian, he's always in character? And add Morrissey to the mix, he gets attention? I dunno, but it got obnoxious really fast. So I guess I can see the UK disdain of Brand.

And then Morrissey disappeared into the night...sad.

I think seeing Moz out would be the best celebrity sighting of my life - and I've had a lot of them.

I would definitely die a happy girl if I ever stumbled across Morrissey in the flesh.

Apatow hasn't had a great track record with me lately, but I LOVED this movie.

sammantha t: it was a pretty big deal, i was just in shock for awhile that it was happening to begin with! I hated the bar I was at and got there super early, so i was mildly irritated until my friend pointed out Moz. At first, i didn't think it was him, he looked so dapper and youthful despite the gray hair. But then I saw Russell Brand and I knew it must be him for reals.

Plus, all of their entourage gave me the stink eye if I even looked in that general direction.

For those with no love for Judd Apatow, check this Cracked Mag article of "How to Make Your Own Judd Apatow Film".
http://www.cracked.com/blog/2008/04/21/how-to-make-your-own-judd-apatow-movie/

For what it was, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and I found it hilarious! I have to say that the most hilarious part of going to see this movie was watching the line of old ladies two rows in front of me gasping in absolute horror at almost every single scene, LOL! (They thought it was going to be one of those lame, saccharine sweet romantic comedies.)

This movie is so bad. How one can come up with a good review is beyond me. It's childish with a poor script and stilted acting. When I compare it to the intriguing and beautiful "Miss Pettigrew Lives" it's painfull. PAINFUL! Stay home and watch Hannity and Colmes if you want to be tortured this much.