Scream Bloody Entertainment

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” - C. S. Lewis

Things are lacking in the comedy department lately and it seems as if it’s hard to come up with something new and original. Even worse, more and more comedies seem to follow a most basic line of storytelling and the clichés seem to be getting more aggravating. I love watching comedy flicks simply because they are so entertaining and deliver a feeling of easiness and I often find myself indulging in even the most mediocre films of the genre without feeling too sorry about it, but it’s just a matter of time until things start to get tedious and repetitive. In case of comedy movies more than other genre, this happens way too soon and I find myself longing for a film that knows how to handle a good story and how to cleverly deliver good laughs.

I would like to consider Get Him to the Greek to be such a movie and can safely say that I had a lot of fun with it. The film is more or less a spin-off of the 2008 well-received comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall and features the character Aldous Snow, who played a supporting role in the aforementioned movie and was also quite an intriguing character himself. I don’t find it at all surprising that they would make a follow-up movie based solely on this character and others who have seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall would probably agree with me. Quite the contrary, I find it to be a good idea.


So Nicholas Stoller is back in the director’s chair for Get Him to the Greek (this is his second feature length film, by the way) after not coincidentally directing Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Russell Brand is also back for his role as Aldous Snow, which he previously played in the original movie. Sharing the lead role with him is Jonah Hill, who plays Aaron Green, a completely new character to the film (he played a small role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but it has nothing to do with his other character). It’s also worth noting that a major supporting role is played by none other than Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – I shall be talking about his performance in the movie later on. Also starring in the movie are Elizabeth Moss, Colm Meaney, Rose Byrne and a heck of a lot of famous people appearing in cameo roles.

Get Him to the Greek may be a sort of a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the movie itself doesn’t have too much to do with its predecessor other than the character Aldous Snow and some references here and there. Yes, Sarah Marshall (played again by Kristen Bell) does appear for a slight second in the movie, which is kind of nice since it reassures us that this film hasn’t forgotten where it came from. It isn’t exactly specified when or how long after Forgetting Sarah Marshall this movie actually takes place, but that doesn’t matter too much in hindsight.


The movie starts off with Aldous Snow’s music career slowly falling apart after releasing a negatively criticized single and his girlfriend Jackie Q breaks up with him and takes custody of their son. As a result Aldous starts drinking and doing drugs in an excessive manner, much like he did earlier on in his life. In the meantime, Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), who works as a scout for millionaire music mogul Sergio Roma (played by millionaire music mogul Sean Combs… figures), suggests that the company throws a 10-year anniversary concert featuring Snow’s band Infant Sorrow at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in order to hopefully get the company back on its feet. Soon enough Aaron is asked by his boss to fly to London and escort back to the U.S. to prep him up for the big event. Easier said than done, since Aldous present lifestyle is downright chaotic and lives every little bit up to the nasty reputation that he is known for worldwide.

Taking a look at how the trailers and ads are portraying Get Him to the Greek, the movie’s general attitude may be slightly misleading for some viewers. Yes, there are lots of crazy moments and fast paced scenes to be had, but most of them only appear later on in the movie. As a matter of fact, it takes quite some time (not a lot, but still) for the film to get into high gear. I didn’t mind it at all and I’m sure most of the audience will be okay with it, especially because the movie takes its time to build up to something that will in the end feel much more rewarding and satisfying. There are lots of interesting things that happen right from the start and there are numerous Easter eggs with references to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the modern music world and celebrities – it will probably take more than one viewing to catch all of them, but that only makes for a great rewatch value.


The crucial element that turns Get Him to the Greek into a success is the performance of the two lead actors Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Both actors deliver a great sense of charismatic, honesty and most of all confidence through their impressive acting and they share a good chemistry on screen. Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow in a slightly different manner than he did in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but that’s probably due to a different person writing the script (Jason Segel was the one who originally wrote the screenplay for Forgetting Sarah Marshall and thus the character, while director Nicholas Stoller took on that job in Get Him to the Greek). Aaron Green may not have been written in as much detail as Aldous has, but the things he has to go through and the way Jonah Hill portrays him makes him quite easy to connect with. The highly realistic and well-written relationship with his girlfriend (played by Elizabeth Moss) also adds a lot to his character development.

Adding up to the great start are the very impressive performances of the supporting actors, especially the one by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as Aaron Green’s boss Sergio Roma. He is the one who sends Green on his dreadful quest to take care of rock star Aldous Snow and his character also plays quite an important part in how the story develops and the way the film plays out. Right from the start he is given a great set of lines and very well written dialogue which in turn is delivered with stunning charisma and skill by Combs. Unlike other celebrities who have turned to acting in their careers, Combs doesn’t take his role too seriously (much like he should) and doesn’t try to show off or ask for unnecessary attention, which was one of the main things that has always bothered me in other starting actors’ performances. His acting comes off as very natural and his character actually helps the film rather than damaging it. There are also tons and tons of cameo appearances and they make for a lot of fun and shock factor throughout the movie.


Unlike many other comedies, it is obvious how much its impressive script has helped Get Him to the Greek succeed as a comedy movie, even though not all of the jokes work as well as they should have. That’s not to say that the film won’t make you laugh, because it’s actually one of the most hilarious titles of the year, but there are simply so many jokes and gags cast throughout that it would have been quite impossible for all of them to play out successfully. The film also stays true to its comedic nature from start to finish and never once seems to drag, become tedious or reach a point where it doesn’t know what to do next. Get Him to the Greek knows exactly what it needs to deliver and does so in smart and calculated manner.

I can’t say that I was a big fan of its climax or the way that it ended, but I can appreciate the fact that it tried to do things differently for once. It doesn’t fully succeed, though, and as such may in turn confuse some of its viewers, especially because it kind of goes into a relatively darker and more serious place than expected. The ending itself isn’t very spectacular and feels much like the movie lost all its power sometime throughout its play time, but at least it doesn’t cheat its audience and manages to deliver an acceptable and satisfying conclusion to its chaotic story. That being said, I have to remind you that Get Him to the Greek is not a flawless movie, nor does it intend to be, and while I haven’t talked too much about its weak spots, that’s only because it left me with such a good feeling and a great sense of satisfaction, which hopefully will turn out to be the same way with you.