Writer, director and big-time producer Judd Apatow seemingly can’t go wrong. The mastermind behind blockbuster hits like “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” Apatow has gained a successful following over the past several years. In fact, almost every movie that carries his name quickly becomes the “it” film. In his newest movie, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” directed by Nicholas Stoller, Apatow is trying to recreate his trademark romantic comedy. Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) and Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) have been a couple for over five years. Undeniably in love, Peter sits in the shadow of his actress girlfriend while her career skyrockets. When Sarah suddenly dumps Peter for playboy rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), Peter is a wreck, crying all day and night. So, Peter takes a trip to Hawaii so he can relax and forget about Sarah Marshall. Once Peter checks into his hotel, he discovers that Sarah and her new boyfriend are already staying there. Peter must deal with his brutal break-up and his new feelings for the Customer Service clerk, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), while once again living next to Sarah Marshall. As with most Apatow movies, a lot of familiar faces from television shows star in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” While Segel currently stars in the cult-favorite, “How I Met Your Mother,” both Kunis and Bell recently starred in and ended two highly successful TV shows. What’s especially nice about “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is that everyone plays a role unfamiliar for them. It might be strange for some people to see Kunis off of “That 70’s Show,” but she does a terrific job in such a different role. Whenever Kunis is in a scene, she steals the show. She’s funny, sweet and, most importantly, charming. While the rest of the cast does a good job, Kunis really grabs the audience’s attention. I’m sure that we will be seeing a lot more of her on the silver screen. After “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” who wouldn’t want her? Possibly the best thing about “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is its surprisingly memorable script. Written by the lead actor Segel, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” just like every other Apatow movie, is filled with one-liners. Even the smallest characters have a hilarious line that will certainly be recited by fans for the next couple of weeks. The screenplay is simply golden, often making horribly awkward events (like a naked break-up) strangely funny. However, the script does tend to rely too heavily on “episodes” – tiny scenes that don’t really connect with the movie as a whole. In fact, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” can feel a little like a lot of “YouTube shorts” put together. With all of the extra side-plots, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” sometimes seems random. Individually, each scene is hilarious and fun, but together they lack the cohesion to make a grade “A” movie. Running at 112 minutes, the editors could have cut a good 20 minutes of fluff out of the final product. Instead, the choppiness makes this one of Apatow least successful movies. “The 40 Year Old Virgin” was absolutely hysterical and “Knocked Up” is probably one of my favorite comedies. However, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” doesn’t quite match up to the quality of those two films. It’s a fun, quirky movie that looks at the masculine side of dating, but not much more. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” will make you laugh, but, in the end, it lacks the cohesion that is paramount for a truly great movie. Grade: 4
