COMEDY; 1hr 51min
STARRING: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
Dish of the day: from left, Bell, Segel, Hill and Brand
Comedy can come from a dark and stormy place and for lovelorn Peter Bretter (How I Met Your Mother ’s Segel, who also wrote the screenplay), that place is lonely and blue. Peter’s TV-star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Bell) has flicked him for a walking-punchline rocker (Brand, wackily pitched between philosophical and pea-brained). And when he holidays solo in Hawaii to get over it, he finds his nostalgia-ridden self at the same resort as Sarah and her peacockish squeeze. Cutie receptionist Rachel (Kunis) is on hand to ease the pain, thank goodness, and Superbad ’s Jonah Hill as a waiter doesn’t hurt any, either…
Segel’s screenplay is great value — goofy enough to guarantee big giggles and smart enough to take it easy on their placement. And then there’s the man himself: a comedic godsend so shaggy-dog endearing you’ll want to scratch his tummy and feed him a treat.
