DVD Review: Get Him To The Greek

The recent generational wave of comedies in the last few years may have been the savior to the comedy genre. Blockbuster smash hits like “40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” have paved the way for a totally new look on comedies. Nicholas Stoller was the man behind “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” a couple years back. Only two years later, he returns to the captain’s chair to direct a spin off of his previous hit. Russell Brand even reprises his role as “Aldous Snow.” This time, the British rock star is set to embark on his own crazy, drug induced, laugh filled adventure, with Jonah Hill as his chaperone and partner in crime.

Aaron Green’s (Jonah Hill) job is to get things accomplished. The ambitious twenty-three year old has snaked his way into a dream job, just in time for a chance at a career changing assignment. His mission is simple, or at least he hopes. He has to fly to London and escort a rock n’ roll star to the infamous Los Angeles “Greek Theatre,” for the first-stop on a multi million dollar tour. His warning: Turn your back on him at your own demise. British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is both a brilliant musician and walking sex symbol. Weary of corporate tyrants and large sums of money, the former front man is searching for the meaning of life. But that doesn’t mean he can’t please a few ladies, and do every drug known to man along the way. When he discovers his true love is in California, Aldous makes it his quest to win her back, right before kick-starting his biggest career move yet.

Going into viewing this movie, I knew I didn’t care for Russell Brand. Jonah Hill is proof that not all overweight comedians need to play the fat card to deliver the laughs. Someone like Chris Farley used his size to his career advantage. Hill doesn’t only choose bumbling fat guy roles, he counts on his lightning quick wit and sharp lip service to deliver the goods. His choices in comedy roles so far have been very wise. Back to Mr. Brand. If he dare shave his head for a role in something, he may gain some more of my respect. He can only hang onto the Jimmy Morrison act for so long. As if his cover appearance on “Rolling Stone” magazine wasn’t scary enough. I found the way they chose to make “Get Him to the Greek,” a direct spin-off from the earlier hit, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” very clever. Reprising some of the roles from the earlier film, gave the fans in the audience an inside joke or two to run with. I didn’t have much expectations for this movie to even be averagely decent. To my surprise, I was way off. Even if this is the 137th movie of the year Hollywood ruined by showing the good parts in the trailers, it still packed a comedic punch as hard as ever. It was vulgar, raw, and just what the comedy doctor ordered. Of course searching for a moral or meaning in a film like this would be like trying to find a Caucasian in a Tyler Perry movie. You just know not to bother trying. All in all, the Brand/Hill combo was a success, and I totally expect to see them paired up again in the future. I guess the only thing missing was a little Seth Rogen or Paul Rudd, but they can’t be in everything. You only get a decent comedy thrown in your lap once every few months. This may just have to hold you over until November, when Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis tear up cinema screens in Todd Phillip’s (The Hangover) next surefire comedy hit, “Due Date.”

GRADE: B-
Official Site: http://www.gethimtothegreek.net/

Review By: Charlie Giltenboth