Forgetting Sarah Marshall [Blu-ray]

Loved it in theaters and I love it even more at home! Great cast and really well done...just a funny movie.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the latest in a growing category of Judd Apatow-inspired raunchy comedy genre. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is written by and stars Jason Segal. Segal is an actor I wasn't familiar with but has been on television in the show "How I Met Your Mother."

In this film, Segal plays Peter, a composer for a hit CSI type show that stars his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Marshall breaks off their relationship and Peter is devestated. After trying his luck dating other women, Peter's brother Brian (a great character played by Bill Hader) convinces Peter to take a vacation. Peter goes to Hawaii, a favorite place of Sarah's, and when he arrives, finds Sarah vacationing with her new boyfriend, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).

Hilarity ensues as Sarah and her boyfriend Aldous, a womanizing British rock star, live out their new relationship over heart broken Peter. Peter does find a ray of hope in the attractive hotel clerk Rachel (Milo Kunis). Peter slowly begins to develop a relatioship with Rachel while fighting the lingering feelings for Sarah.

The new trend the Apatow comedies is to shock the audience with its language and adult comedy. This movie tries that too, but if you pull away the gimmick, you still have to have a story, and this movie does. Peter is truly heartbroken at losing his girlfriend. Sarah is confused about whether or not she still loves Peter. Rachel is a sincere, normal girl.

There is a lot to like about this movie. I loved the cast. Segal, Bell and Kunis have all been on television but I'd never watched them, so they were new and fresh to me. Apatow regulars Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill also have strong supporting rolls. Russell Brand is great as the weird British rockstar. The red-headed newlyweds are great. So is Peter's Dracula opera. And the clips of Sarah Marshall's CSI type show are pretty funny too.

This movie is a lot of fun. The strong story made the comedy that much better. Still, a warning for those concerned. There is nudity, swearing, and sex so it is not a movie for children. This is a comedy for adults as opposed to one like Superbad which I thought was more for college kids.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Jason Segel


Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is stuck in one of life's many ruts. As far as he knows he is completely happy in that rut. Peter who is a composer scores a CSI-like hit TV show and is in a passionate 5 years relationship with the show's star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). One day while Peter is whittling away the hours as he usually does, he receives a call from Sarah saying that she will be by soon. It seems Sarah isn't as happy in the relationship as Peter is and as he thought she was and a break-up appears immanent. After some back and forth Peter discovers there is someone else. Peter is devastated and after attempting to pull himself back together decides a vacation is in order and sets off for Hawaii only to discover that Sarah is there with her new boyfriend, rock star Aldous Snow(Russell Band). On the verge of packing it in and going home the desk clerk at the hotel Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) locates Peter a room and wackiness ensues...

Being a fan of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated Widescreen Edition)", "Knocked Up (Unrated Widescreen Edition)" and "Superbad (Unrated Widescreen Edition)" I was curious to see this but went in with lower expectations as the magic the creators capture usually begins to fade the more and more they create and the jokes and gimmicks they had relied on begin falling flat. I was pleasantly surprised with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"
however and a slightly more serious tone was taken and the movie worked really well. This isn't to say the some of the same kind of humor and hijinks found in the previous movies isn't found here because it is. The degree in which it is employed has been pulled back just the right amount for slightly more serious movie.

The Good: All of the elements that were enjoyable in "Knocked Up" and "40 Year Old Virgin" are present here. A slight change in direction in the cast as Seth Rogan isn't cast and a more serious Jason Segel who also wrote the movie takes the lead. This was a good move for this movie as Segel causes a slight change in the tone of the movie. Some of the regulars do appear though as Paul Rudd appears as Chuck or Cunu (His Hawaiian name) and Jonah Hill shows up as a resort waiter obsessed with Aldous Snow. Mila Kunis was also another solid addition to this cast and she fills her role perfectly.

The Bad: Nothing memorable

Overall: If you have enjoyed the previous Apatow productions check out "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"!

I believe what made me so drawn to this movie when I first saw it was Mila Kunis' character, Rachel Jensen. Aside from being stunningly attractive in this movie, she portrays the type of girl I believe most guys dream of having... one who can give a man a reason to hope again after being kicked down to his knees. Throughout this movie, she picks him back up from his devastating breakup to title character Sarah Marshall - played by Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell - as someone who opens his eyes to how his ex treated him, and what he truely deserves. She - the character - is the answer to my title question.

Jason Segel's performance in this movie was brilliant. While not going completely over the top with the sexual humor typical of Apatow movies, Segel instead gives a performance about a man named Peter who could do much more for himself, but instead was content with what he had (all the while taking it for granted). In the end, he finally realizes his potential with the help of his new love interest Rachel.

Over all, this movie still gives me a warm feeling each time I watch it. To me, it is one of those movies that is a joy to watch no matter how many times you have seen it. While refreshingly humorous, witty and clever (including a Dracula Musical written by Jason Segel in real life), it is sure to leave the viewer with a happy feeling at the end.

As a fan of Apatow films, I will go out on a limb and say this film could be listed as one of the greatest comedies of this decade.

Version: U.S.A / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 1.85;1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
High Profile 4.1 (Main Video) - High Profile 3.2 (BonusView - U-Control)
Disc size: 48,63 GB
Subtitles: English SDH / French / Spanish
Number of chapters: 20

Unrated cut
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Running time: 1:57:46
Feature size: 25,59 GB
Average video bit rate: 18.01 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3927 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 3900kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Plus Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Plus Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Theatrical cut
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Running time: 1:51:00
Feature size: 23,71 GB

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3925 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 3900kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Plus Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
Dolby Digital Plus Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Extras:

#Deleted and Extended Scenes
#Feature Commentary
#Puppet Break-Up
#Line-O-Rama
#Sex-O-Rama
#Drunk-O-Rama
#Gag Reel
#"A Taste for Love"
#"Dracula's Lament"
#Russell Brand: Aldous Snow
#"The Letter U"
#"We've Got to Do Something" Music Video
#Crime Scene
#Sarah's New Show - Alts
#Raw Footage - Video Chat
#Video Diaries
#Red Band Trailer
#Karaoke
#BD Live
#U-Control - Picture in Picture
#Visual Commentary
#DVD Digital Copy