Forgetting Sarah Marshall (15)

Another film from the Apatow gag factory, written by and starring an alumnus of his brilliant-but-cancelled sitcoms Freaks And Geeks and Undeclared – Jason Segel. You’ll know him as a smart-mouth sleaze from Knocked Up, but here he plays a hapless, charming kook composer who tries to mend his broken heart by holidaying to Hawaii, only to find his ex (Kristen Bell) there with her new lover, Brit rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Brand – in all his stupid-haired, mangled cockernee glory – is actually very good here while Bell makes her potentially vapid character rather charismatic. There’s also something about Mila Kunis, as the receptionist who just might piece Segel back together...

What makes Forgetting Sarah Marshall work is that it’s written out of experience – situations so daft and bizarre they must be true. The naked break-up is from Segel’s own life as he recounts on the raucous commentary where, amid all the giggles and you-had-to-be-there anecdotes, a few choice observations emerge – such as just how much male nudity an audience can take. “People got angry at the fourth shot,” says director Nick Stoller, while producer Shauna Robertson recalls a similar reaction during test screenings of the birth scene in Knocked Up: “Four vagina shots: offensive. Three: hilarious. Two: not enough...”

Other extras include a Making Of for the climactic Dracula puppet musical, plus deleted scenes, raw footage and alternative lines. “Loving musicals doesn’t make you gay... That jacket does.”

DVD Extras: Commentary
Featurettes
Deleted scenes
Music video
Trailer

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