Don't Forget Sarah Marshall!

I recently spoke to a friend, who insisted a friend of her friend’s friend is Sarah Marshall, (or is the character of Sarah Marshall in real life) and so cannot go, no matter how funny, to see a film that desecrates the meaning of respect in romantic relationships, be they intact or in mid-fract. But frankly, Madame, I don’t give a damn.

You must go see “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. Not only is the script hilarious and well worth the cost of production and a movie ticket, but it is also, truthfully, astoundingly and irrefutably fair to all parties involved. If anything, the boyfriend who inspired the screenplay is more poked at, insulted, and painted an idiot than the girlfriend he mourns over losing. In flashbacks scoffing at their once “perfect” dating life, Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) looks like a badly matched handbag for Sarah Marshall’s red carpet ensemble, but not because she treats him in such a fashion (please excuse pun). Peter is out of place, because he and she are not a cohesive pair. While Sarah (Kristen Bell) stands on top of the world, Peter is lost and searching for a path out of a self-inflicted hell. He won’t let himself feel equal to her success. And so we discover, Peter is drowning in depression even before Sarah Marshall leaves him.

But, Sarah Marshall is by no means heartless for leaving him in the mire. She is no demon by nature, but flawed. Just as Peter cannot pick himself out of the cesspool of self-loathing, neither can Sarah fish him out, nor is the task her responsibility. Sarah Marshall, like Peter, is a three dimensional character, not Cruella de Vil. When Sarah discovers she is lacking the power to support Peter, a man that she, honestly, respects and admires, she fights. She tries to win him back. But her methods don’t work, and she encounters a new experience: failure. A new woman inspires him in a way Sarah could not. And suddenly, Peter’s struggle strikes a new cord in her heart. Perhaps she is ashamed, but these experiences are learning tools, so that we don’t repeat mistakes.

Which brings us to the character who steals the show: Aldous Snow. Sarah’s big mistake is leaving Peter for a sleazy, commitment-phobe Cassanova, the most revolting and ridiculous character, maybe in film history. Aldous Snow teeters on the edge of nauseating the audience with his erotic? dancing and causing them to urinate in their stadium cinema seats. At first, I thought for sure the character would get old. Really Quickly. Refreshingly, actor Russell Brand proved me wrong. The script allows for every character to achieve his/her full 3-dimensional potential. So even the man whore comes off as human in the end. His motive is simple: lust. His alibi is a life philosophy that justifies his behavior on every account.

So if you were expecting to skip a dumb comedy, don’t. This script explores every end of human frailty, stupidity, and growth in the world of relationships. Writer, Jason Segel, steers each character through complete revolutions and revelations of life. The viewers see themselves and their own set backs from their own experiences in this hysterical tale, and all from the breezy steamy islands of Hawaii. What could be better?

Check out the details at:

http://www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800039/

Don't Forget Sarah Marshall by http://thewordofna.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.