Feta cheese: 'Greek' heroes worked better as 'Sarah Marshall' side dish
The idea behind Get Him to the Greek, producer Judd Apatow and director Nick Stoller's follow-up to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, is inspired in its simplicity: Take the two most interesting supporting characters from their 2008 romantic comedy (which otherwise starred Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, and Mila Kunis) and put them in a buddy comedy together.
The focus this time out is on awkward superfan Jonah Hill, who has since become a low-level record company exec, and omnisexual loony-tune Britpop star Russell Brand, whose star has faded since releasing a hilariously offensive bleeding-heart ballad called "African Child." The duo have to get to the rocker's potentially career-redeeming anniversary concert at the Greek Theater. The main obstacle in their way, of course, is Brand's self-destructive behavior.
While predictable, the results are often very funny – Hill's obese straight man makes an ideal foil for Brand's reliably zany antics involving drugs, alcohol and women. But it's amazing what happens when a character is relegated (that is, indeed, the right word) from supporting scene-stealer to lead. Saddled with the requisite emotional backstory, Brand isn't quite the surreal force of comic chaos he was in the earlier film. Now that he has a character arc, with all sorts of parental and relationship issues to resolve, it's hard not to feel like his wings have been clipped. We're laughing, but we're also tempted to shed a tear for what has been lost.
