Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

It's an interesting thing the spin-off; while it sometimes works on television (Cheers -> Frasier) the concept is very hit or miss.  In this case, director Nicholas Stoller takes the out of control rock-and-roller from his hit directorial debut, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and puts him in a film in which Aldous Snow has broken his sobriety following a public meltdown.

Russell Brand reprises his role as the British rock superstar, though the character seems to have changed between Sarah Marshall and this film.  In his original incarnation Brand plays Aldous Snow, a famous frontman with a history of drug abuse and a penchant for the ladies.  In Get Him to the Greek, the character has been tweaked to seem more interested in the idea of a rockstar than the actual vices themselves.  This time around Jonah Hill plays, Aaron Green, a record company intern (unrelated to his mega-fan in Sarah Marshall) who is in charge of bringing Snow from London to the Greek Theater in Los Angeles in time for a huge 10-year anniversary concert.  This feat is complicated by Snow's desire to party and refusal to cooperate with Green's attempts to keep on schedule.  Hijinx ensues when Aaron, fresh off a break up, indulges in the rockstar lifestyle alongside Aldous.  The movie's first hour is filled with absinthe-infused nightclubbery and jokes at the expense of the absolutely wasted intern.  All this comes to a screeching halt in the 3rd act when the emotions come flooding in and things get weird.  The last 30 minutes are crammed with a failed threesome, a suicide attempt, and a mega-joint.  And while those three things sound crazy together in writing, they're even more absurd on the screen.  

While written by Stoller, the film was produced by Judd Apatow (Superbad, The 40 Year old Virgin) and it's obvious by his trademark sentimental turn toward the end.  The film has very little plot, but that's excusable.  What makes this film lesser than Apatow's previous successes is that it lacks the charm that shines through all of the hilariously vulgar gags.  Jonah Hill's character, though drunk and high throughout most of the movie, does have a certain endearing personality that keeps you rooting for him, but its not enough to save the movie as a whole.  Brand, who is often garish and annoying, tones it down just a bit and puts in an ok performance.  The movie really failed to take advantage of the bounty of cameos and bit parts played by such hilarious up-and-comers as Nick Kroll, Aziz Ansari, and T.J. Miller.  It would have been beneficial to give them more lines, whereas most of them seem to have been used only in the trailer, or left for the blooper reel.  One performance that DOES stand out is that of the business-minded record executive Sergio Roma, played surprisingly well by Sean "Diddy" Combs.  His character clearly had the best writing and Combs delivered the lines perfectly!  Though it's probably a bad idea, a spin-off movie starring Diddy's character would actually pretty interesting to see.

Nothing about Get Him to the Greek really stands out, but it is still a fun and entertaining comedy to fill an afternoon with.


6/10