Forgetting Sarah Marshall

When Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his girlfriend, TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), he is devastated. After a few weeks of feeling miserable, Peter decides, on the urgings of his half-brother, Brian (Bill Hader), to take a holiday in Hawaii to clear his mind. Relaxation seems likely for Peter when he hits it off with the hotel's hot customer service representative, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis). But by cruel coincidence, Sarah is taking a break at the same resort with her new boyfriend, famous English rock singer, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).

Written by and starring Segel, a long-time member of the Judd Apatow acting cabal, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a crowd-pleasing romantic-comedy that delightfully follows in the footsteps of previous Apatow flicks, Knocked Up and Superbad. From Segel's self-deprecation to typical R-rated raunchiness, the script is absolutely overflowing with laughs. The film is filled with plenty of hilarious non-sequiturs from Peter's original Dracula puppet rock opera to the clips of Sarah Marshall's Veronica Mars spoof featuring William Baldwin and Jason Bateman.

The comedy is energized by imperfect, offbeat characters who spark wacky situations. The film succeeds because the characters are perfectly developed. Peter is vulnerable and pathetic but far from two-dimensional. He is sympathetic but also a bit of a slacker and a slob, content to sit at home watching TV instead of pursuing his dreams. Bell has the tough role of the pseudo-villain, but she's cute and likable enough to pull it off without too much residual hatred. Kunis is very likable and does well as the straight man to set up Segel's funniest scenes.

Apatow fans will notice many familiar faces. Superbad's Jonah Hill makes an appearance as a bumbling waiter/stalker, and Paul Rudd is featured as the ultra-stoned surfing instructor. Hader also steals some scenes, dropping one hilarious one-liner after another.

The film is far from perfect-and much of the story feels recycled from previous Apatow movies-but this does not significantly detract from the movie's humor. Overall, the film is a must-see for any fan of comedy.