Last Friday, producer Judd Apatow put down another layer of foundation on his reconstruction of mainstream Hollywood comedy.
After helming two TV dramadies, “Freak and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” that were adored by critics and fans but were ratings-deprived, he moved to the big screen. Apatow wrote and directed The 40-Year-Old Virgin and produced Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Both were instant hits and gave him two film formulas that have shaped all his films since.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal, April 18) might just be the strongest of Apatow’s pictures to date. Every element of the formula is so robust that it is easy to forget the similarities to other Apatow productions.
As usual, the plot seems pretty thin and tired on paper: Guy breaks up with girl, flees to Hawaii to recover and finds his ex is already there with a new guy. Witty banter and physical comedy ensue.
In Marshall, Jason Segel (Apatow’s Knocked Up) takes not only his first turn in a lead role but also at the writer’s table. His character, Peter, is a reincarnation of Seth Rogen’s lovable loser in Knocked Up: a pasty, non-athletic adult stuck in a state of arrested development.
As the film starts, Peter confines himself to his apartment to work for his TV-star girlfriend, the movie’s namesake played by Kristen Bell (TV’s “Veronica Mars”). Short clips of the show, “Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime,” costarring William Baldwin (TV’s “Dirty Sexy Money”) are one of many perfectly executed gags that populate this version of Apatow’s reality.
However, for all the absurdity and vulgarity, what really makes Marshall work is that, throughout the laughs, the movie never loses its heart. The first minutes of the film showcase the amazingly awkward breakup between Bell and Segel, where the film’s male lead is left exposing both his depression and a whole lot more. It’s one of several instances in the film when a metaphor-in this case, bearing it all-would come off as clumsy under a lesser filmmaker.
Apatow’s rotating cast of actors and a few first timers fill in the many bit roles. Superbad co-star Jonah Hill brings out his inner creep as a celebrity-obsessed waiter. Hipster hero Paul Rudd (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) makes a few brief appearances as a burnt out, surfing instructor. Even Mila Kunis (TV’s “That 70’s Show”), in her first prominent big-screen role, is able to play a fine balance of crazy and emotionally wounded as the new target of Segel’s affection. While the chemistry was absent between the leads in Knocked Up, the relationships in Marshall are organic and the emotions of the various characters feel sincere.
If one were to step back and look at the evolution of comedy over the past decades, it is clear how far the genre has come. With comedies like Marshall becoming mainstream, and producers like Apatow releasing hit after hit, it’s a good time to be a moviegoer.
