FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

All hail the heartfelt funny

By LAURA DARGUS

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Judd Apatow's a genius, blah, blah blah. Spawned the next generation of comedic filmmakers ... yawn.

You may have heard it before, and with the impending summer release of Pineapple Express, you're bound to hear it all again; but it's hard to act blasé when we're still reaping the benefits of Apatow's collaborative efforts on the tragically short-run series Freaks and Geeks (for which he was the executive producer). Since 1999, his following of budding actors—now burgeoning screenwriters—have flooded the market, adding a truly inspired collection of their own cinematic genius to meld with that of Apatow's.

Freaks and Geeks starred Seth Rogan, Jason Segel, James Franco and a handful of other ridiculously talented young people. The 40-Year-Old Virgin, co-written and directed by Apatow, featured Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd (both of which were in Apatow's Knocked Up) and introduced Jonah Hill (who would go on to star in Superbad, the film that Rogan co-wrote with childhood friend Evan Goldberg). The DVD's special features revealed their mostly improvised filmmaking style, and if you've never watched it with the director's commentary, do.

Segel (who was among the entourage of stoner friends in Knocked Up) wrote Forgetting Sarah Marshall and stars as Peter Bretter, a struggling composer and affable loser boyfriend to television star Sarah Marshall (Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell). Sarah arrives home early from the set one day to break things off with Peter. Devastated, Peter books a trip to Hawaii to clear his head, but he unwisely chooses a locale on Sarah's recommendation. He inevitably and awkwardly encounters her in the hotel lobby with her new beau, lothario rock star Aldous Snow (hilariously played by Russell Brand). Hijinks ensue as the two exes try to prove their mettle in moving on. The resort staff embraces Peter in his heartache, and his trip goes pretty well considering. Rudd and Hill are back: Hill, always aggressively awkward, plays a star-struck hotel employee who relentlessly tries to get Snow to listen to his demos. Rudd plays a burnt-out surf instructor. Mila Kunis (That '70s Show) and Bill Hader (Knocked Up and Superbad) round out the cast, bringing warmth and reality to the story by acting as the voices of reason for the immature and overwhelmed Peter. Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) cameos as a sexually frustrated newlywed who ends up getting sex advice from Snow (and perhaps delivers some of the funniest lines throughout).

Segal's writing rivals that of Apatow's; he, too, can bring sincere characters to light while inviting us to laugh at their shortcomings.

Rogan has teamed up again with Goldberg to write the much-anticipated stoner action flick, Pineapple Express, (with Apatow weighing in on the story credits). It stars Franco and Rogan and features an appearance from Hader.

With both films acting as bookends to the summer release calendar, here's hoping the rest of the year will deliver plenty more from the funny crew.

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

RATED | R

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