A.A.C. Puryear STAFF WRITER
Editor's Note: Though Mr. Puryear provided us with this article months ago, we have waited until now to publish it so you wouldn't have to wait for the movie to be released on DVD. Product links are at the bottom of this post.

It had happened by marvelous chance. I had just finished listening to a reggae band perform downtown with a few friends, when we thought it might be a good idea to see a movie. In a last ditch effort to avoid seeing either The Happening or The Strangers (I hate horror movies), I quipped that I was in the mood to see something that would make me laugh, and the theater we happened to stumble upon only offered us two options: Forgetting Sarah Marshall and What Happens in Vegas. We chose the former.

And I have now ascertained that this was the best decision I had made all week. Forget trying Subway’s new personal pan pizza. Forget biking to work in order to save gas and get a little exercise. Forget discovering and exploring a vast bamboo forest in the backyard of a friend’s house. Buying that nine-dollar ticket and walking through those theater doors topped them all.

But what can you expect from the people who brought us Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin?

The film opens with Peter Bretter (Jason Segal) sitting in his apartment watching a special on E! about the beautiful and famous actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), who just so happens to be the girl he has been dating for the past five years. As the audience watches the TV special alongside Peter, we learn that the couple works together on the hit show Crime Scene; Sarah stars in it, and Peter, an talented pianist and singer who hasn’t quite made it big, produces the background music. The program ends with a clip from a music video by Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a British rock singer who happens a little bit too comfortable expressing his sexuality in public (one of his songs is entitled “Inside of You”).

In the next scene, we learn that the couple in show business is not doing as well as pretty pictures on the TV might suggest. Sarah shows up at Peter’s apartment to deliver some hard news: she wants to break up. And she tells him this while he’s naked. Talk about awkward moments…

This leaves Peter to put some clothes on and find a way to get over her. He takes a vacation to Hawaii, only to find out that Sarah is staying at the same hotel as him. But she’s not there alone; she’s with her new boyfriend that happens to be none other than the famous erotic Brit himself: Aldous Snow. What follows is hilarious journey for Peter filled with outlandishly awkward moments with the new celebrity couple and a store of quirky characters that attempt to help him move on.

And while the plot itself was both interesting and enjoyable to watch as each new scene unfolded with some way to make me laugh out loud, the best part of this movie was the cast. In addition to some superb acting on the parts of the aforementioned Segal, Bell, and Brand, we also see a myriad of talented actors and actresses who have shown their faces on a number of popular TV shows and movies. Mila Kunis (from That 70’s Show and Family Guy) takes on the role of Rachel, the desk clerk at the hotel who becomes Peter’s new love interest and chief motivator to follow his dreams as a musician, while occasionally showing her own crazy side whenever her ex-boyfriend shows up. Jonah Hill (from Superbad and Accepted) plays a waiter with an idol-worshipping obsession with Aldous Snow that reaches such a comically disturbing point I could not help but laugh whenever the two characters had a scene together. Paul Rudd (from Knocked Up, 40-Year Old Virgin, and Anchorman) portrays a weed-addicted surf instructor who can see the pain behind Peter’s eyes; his scenes teaching Peter how to surf are quite amusing. Finally, Jack McBrayer (from 30ROCK and Talladega Nights) performs as a God-fearing newlywed on his honeymoon on the quest to learn just how to please his wife in the bedroom.

The only flaw I managed to find was that it was incredibly obvious that some of the scenes were shot in front of a green screen, but that certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying this summer hit. In fact, not only did I leave the theater that night with a smile on my face, I also left with an uplifting message to seize the day and live life to the fullest regardless of what terrible hardship comes my way. Because amidst the image of the cleverly constructed characters thrown into hilarious situations, you can find a brilliant coming of age story of redemption and pursuing your dreams.

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