The latest from the Judd Apatow laugh factory, Forgetting Sarah Marshall focuses the spotlight on Knocked Up supporting player Jason Segel, who not only stars here, but also wrote the reportedly autobiographical screenplay. Segel plays Peter Bretter, a Hollywood composer who flees to Hawaii for a getaway after TV-star girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. But his timing is bad: Sarah and her new beau, British rocker Aldous (Russell Brand), have booked a room right next to his at the same resort. Still hopelessly smitten with his ex, Peter can't bring himself to leave, choosing instead to drown his sorrows while pretending to enjoy his “vacation.” Segel, whose full-frontal nude scenes are shocking but funny in context, shows a flair for physical comedy and works well with fellow members of the Apatow stock company such as Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, and Bill Hader. First-time director Nicholas Stoller occasionally allows the pace to lag, but his accomplished performers are game, milking their roles for every possible chuckle. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director Nicholas Stoller, executive producer Rodney Rothman, producer Shauna Robertson, writer/star Jason Segel, and costars Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, and Jack McBrayer), 35 minutes of cast video diaries, a 17-minute “Cinemax Final Cut” interview with cast and crew, 16 minutes of deleted/extended scenes, audition tapes (16 min.), an “Aldous and Peter in Hotel Lobby” featurette (9 min.), eight minutes of “Line-O-Rama” various takes, a “Video Chat” featurette (7 min.), six minutes of outtakes, “Russell Brand: Aldous Snow” character interviews (6 min.), “A Taste for Love” featurette on the puppet show (6 min.), “The Letter U” kids show with Brand (4 min.), alternate scenes from the fictional “Crime Scene” show (4 min.), a three-minute “Dracula's Lament” table read, a three-minute “Puppet Break Up” outtake from the puppet show, three-minute “Drunk-O-Rama” and “Sex-O-Rama” segments, alternate versions of Sarah's new show (2 min.), a “Dracula's Lament” outtake (2 min.), the music video for “We've Got to Do Something” by Brand and Segel, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is a visual commentary track, as well as a picture-in-picture track viewable during the film, karaoke with six music videos (including “Dracula's Lament,” “We've Got to Do Something,” and “Inside of You”), and BD Live-accessible material. Also included is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a mostly winning comedy.] (E. Hulse)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Universal, 112 min., not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Sept. 30 Volume 23, Issue 5
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: