Forgetting Sarah Marshall Review

        2000s comedy is to me probably one of the best as far as movies are concerned. You have the heavy hitters like Adam McKay and Judd Apatow that were releasing a new kind of comedy that aimed to show the mundane in the normal world and in anything Will Ferrell happened to be in. Little did I know that Apatow was in the credits for this film but didn’t entirely directed it. I happened to catch this film when I was in South Padre Island and I think it’s a perfect relaxing film that doesn’t get too depressing or heartbreaking when dealing with a breakup. 

1. Peter’s Hawaiian Getaway

        Little did I know when I was exposed to different stuff that I’ve seen Jason Segal in many things. My first exposure of him was when he played the villain Vector in the first Despicable Me. When I saw him on a consistent basis was when I was binge watching the entirety of How I Met Your Mother. At the time he was mostly associated with comedy films as only a secondary character. I feel that with this one he finally got the top billing. Well deservedly too since he also wrote the film based on his own personal experience. 

        So, the film is about Segal’s character Peter, who is a music composer for his girlfriend’s television show. They break up, which has Peter in a funk where his friend recommends having him go to Hawaii as a vacation. Little does he know that his ex is also on the island, along with her new boyfriend. It sucks when he can’t catch a break since Sarah is the last person Peter wants to meet and to immediately find out that she’s dating a vocalist in a band. 

        While the film is not too gloomy with the idea of Peter trying to get over a break up, I love that the film basically feels like an island adventure. More so that, the colors are lively to represent the Oahu Island and that for a beach is where Peter meets a variety of people that work or are staying at the resort. I’ll say that the supporting cast is one of the best aspects of the film since they help Peter get over his past relationship. I think out of all of them that are hilarious is Paul Rudd’s Chuck. Just an airhead guy that happens to live without being aware of what’s going on. 

        With a story like this, Peter happens to find someone that’s even better than Sarah. Mila Kunis as Rachel is just stunning. I think what makes her great was that she sees the awkward conversation between Peter and Sarah that she must help him out. Right down to even being comfortable around him to get an idea of who he is. The moments between Kunis and Segal is great since she’s not technically the rebound girl but she helps Peter be comfortable for who he is. The tender moments compliment the overall movie when it’s basically him that’s attempting to get over his ex. 

2. Breaking Up and Moving On

        It only makes sense that in this section I talk about Sarah Marshall. She is in the title of the movie and well the whole point of the movie is to have our guy forgetting her. It becomes impossible for him since she happens to stay at the same resort as him. Now, I will say that the movie isn’t entirely biased in a way where the movie paints her as the antagonist. Of course, finding out that she’s been cheating on Peter for a year isn’t right either. The moments between them is awkward in the hilarious way since Peter wants to patch up any sense of a relationship but she won’t budge. 

        The scene that is probably the best when you really get down to it is when they finally talk about why they broke up. All of it comes down to Sarah trying everything to fix it and accusing Peter of being a slob. One may think that she’s to blame but in reality is that they’re equally to blame. And the key fact that gets overlooked is that while she did everything, they didn’t sit down and talk. That whole tiny action is what maybe could’ve fixed things, but it wasn’t even explored. 

        If there’s one detail that I like is that we have flashbacks of when Peter and Sarah were together. It’s hilarious and sad on both sides since we can get a visual idea of how the breakup was all but inevitable. We get glimpses of Peter showing her his Dracula opera and Sarah telling him not to play it anymore is just infuriating. Right down to Sarah picking out clothes for Peter and for her new boyfriend Aldous lists out that she has flaws as much as Peter. As I mentioned, it isn’t entirely biased to paint her as bad, but to show that they weren’t compatible at all. 

        Apart from that, the whole movie is about having that baggage of the past. Like Peter’s toxic relationship and when Rachel tells him why she moved to Oahu. It’s not just Peter having a quest to figure himself out and to try to help out Rachel. I like that he’s proactive enough to be himself when Rachel does him a favor to play out his Dracula opera. It makes her redeeming and so representative of the feel good movie that this film is going for. 

        I might as well be upfront that both this one and Eternal Sunshine do have some things similar that I was entirely unaware. While one does have a breakup that inevitably tries to be salvageable and this one where there’s a breakup but the victim tries to move on despite everything. I think it’s unique to have a romance and love film focus on how to deal with a breakup. Being sci-fi or the traditional route of being self-reflective and accepting who one is. I feel like not enough films tackle that but prefer to go on the romantic route or do an action that is in the name of love

3. Overall

        Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of the underrated romantic comedies of the 2000s. I had a good time with it and it’s certainly a palate cleanser after watching last week’s film.