What’s this all about? I turn 30 on Sept. 26, 30 days from the start of this series. To celebrate, I’m going to watch one movie a day for 30 days and spend 30 minutes writing about each one. This post is about 2008. Click here for the original newsletter in the series. Other entries: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Out of all of the large ensemble raunchfest comedies released in the mid-aughts, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is my favorite. Compared to stuff like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” it’s relatively short — no 2 1/2-hour-long riff fests here. It’s also the perfect blend of raunch and heart, mixing in some truths about human relationships along with its sex jokes.
Written by and starring Jason Segel, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is about Peter (Segel) and his actress girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Peter is the composer for Sarah’s hit primetime TV show “Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime,” and lives in her shadow for most of their relationship. Sarah breaks up with Peter at the beginning of the movie, sending Peter into a depression.
His solution is to go on the Hawaiian vacation he was planning with Sarah by himself, only to discover upon check-in at the resort that Sarah is there too with her new boyfriend, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Peter hits it off with Rachel (Mila Kunis), the receptionist at the resort. The rest of the movie is a screwball comedy with dick jokes, as each member of each couple finds out new things about themselves, each other, and their relationships, with the beautiful landscape of Hawai’i in the background.
What made this movie stand out for me when I first watched it, aside from the novelty of watching a very R-rated movie, was how different it was from most of the movies of its kind that were released at the time. This movie’s protagonist is Peter — he is the one doing the “forgetting” — but it’s Sarah’s name in the title of the movie,a nd this movie is just as much about her as it is about Peter. As such, each main character in this movie is given some depth and some explanation for their actions.
Sarah cheated on Peter and broke up with him because he wasn’t receptive to any of her efforts to improve their relationship or help him become a better version of himself; Peter eventually realized he was content to be in Sarah’s shadow, and later, content to attach himself to Rachel; Aldous realizes that he doesn’t really like Sarah after all, and for as womanizing as he is, he still doesn’t tolerate Sarah’s decision to try to get back with Peter; Rachel is the one to finally stop Peter’s cycle of self-sabotage and depression by breaking up with him and forcing him to grow up. People are complicated, relationships are complicated, and sometimes when relationships end, it’s both peoples’ fault, or it’s nobody’s fault, or it’s just circumstances that ended it.
That all sounds like a drag, but “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” treats those subjects lightly, putting its characters in funny conversations and physical comedy situations. The initial breakup scene features a fully naked Jason Segel, which is painfully vulnerable but also really funny (another way this movie subverts the bro-comedy movies of its time: I think Segel’s penis gets more screen time than Rachel’s bare chest, which solidifies the film’s R rating in the first five minutes but also signifies that Peter is going to bear the brunt of the jokes for this movie).
The pivotal part comes at the end, where Peter finally performs his puppet Dracula musical, a project that Sarah didn’t understand but Rachel championed.
“[You] told me the story was actually a comedy, and then it just took off,” Peter tells Rachel, which also double as the explanation for his whole story throughout the film.
Relationships are complicated and a lot of hard work, but it’s better if you can laugh at them.
Up next: 2009’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” an adaptation that I wasn’t prepared for.
Letter of Recommendation
A movie set in Hawai’i is as good a reason as any to promote the music of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.
That’s all, folks. If you liked what you saw here, click that subscribe button (promise I won’t send any annoying emails) and tell all your friends!
This newsletter is written by me and edited by my favorite person, Taylor Tompkins. Views expressed here are my own and don’t reflect the opinions of my employer, yadda yadda yadda.
If there’s anything you want to see covered in a future newsletter, let me know!
You can find me in other corners of the internet as well, if you so choose. There’s my personal website (which focuses on pop culture, faith and my journalism clips), a Twitter account and a Letterboxd account. Subscribe away.