DVD--Get Him to the Greek

or: 2010's The Hangover wannabe.

One word to sum it up: Disappointing.

Russell Brand and Jonah Hill are undoubtedly two of the funniest comedy go-to guys in showbiz these days. While watching Get Him to the Greek, I couldn't help but look back to the days where Jonah was just that fat guy from Superbad and Russell was just the weird long-haired guy from St. Trinians. They sure have come a long way since then, but one thing has remained: they're still as funny as ever in raunchy comedies. However, while their comedic talents shone through in Get Him to the Greek, there was almost that feeling of deja vu. You know, this movie was trying to be The Hangover.

In light of the music industry going downhill thanks to downloads and economic problems, a record company is dying for new ideas. Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), an intern, suggests that rockstar Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) should do a 10 year anniversary show at the Greek theatre. Only problem is, Aaron is given the task of getting Aldous to L.A. within 72 hours. It's on this journey where Aaron realizes how much trouble one out-of-control rockstar can cause for an innocent being.

I'll admit, there were laughs-a-plenty in Get Him to the Greek. The film owes a huge debt to Russell Brand who takes great pleasure in making fun of the stereotypes that musicians are put into. Another outrageously funny star in this movie is Rose Byrne, who certainly plays against type as Jackie Q, a character which seems to be made to take a stab at popstars like Katy Perry: an oversexualized self-obsessed singer of less-than-wholesome songs. When Get Him to the Greek tries to be a satire of the music industry, it works, and ha me in hysterics. The unfortunate thing was that I didn't find many of the other parts funny or merely interesting, and the threesome scene definitely put me off it.

Don't get me wrong, I have seen many R-rated comedies and they are one of my favourite genres of film. However, the raunchiness in Get Him to the Greek is lacklustre and too try-hard. Most of the movie is try-hard, as it wants to be a comedy like The Hangover, but the lulls in the script and it's stunning case of deja vu prevent this from being as fun as it should have been. That said, the movie is a great injection of laughter into the early part of 2010 when good comedies were few and far between. Get Him to the Greek isn't completely satisfying, but will have you laughing your ass off. It's an easy watch, and fans of it's predecessor, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (it's a spin-off from that, as Aldous Snow is in that movie too), will definitely find a hit in this. But it's just not funny enough.


THE VERDICT: Works as a spoof of the music industry, but unfortunately, Get Him to the Greek is trying too hard to be like all of the other R-rated comedies. Shame is, it comes out exactly like the others, and that case of deja vu makes it a whole lot less funny.

6/10