Forgetting Sarah Marshall was probably the surprise hit of 2008. Not only did it reveal that guy from How I Met Your Mother as being capable of dirty comedy (he both starred in and wrote FSM), or prove to be to be the funniest movie of the year, but it introduced audiences to the lovable, yet tragic rock star Aldous Snow. He then went on to become one of those rare secondary characters; the ones who become better known and more liked than any other in the movie and, in turn, gets their own spin-off.
If British comedian Russell Brand wasn't well known before FSM, he certainly was after. That could probably come down to the fact that in real life, he mirrors Aldous Snow in almost every way; though they differ in being a comedian and singer, respectively, they are both recovering drug and alcohol addicts and well known for their foul behaviour and public (as well as frequent) sex life. Yet, all of this made Aldous comedy gold and he comepletely dominated the second half of Sarah Marshall.
The sequel/spin-off picks up an undisclosed amount of time later - Aldous has gone off the rails...again. The epic failure of his band, Infant Sorrow's latest album African Child lead to a public end to his relationship with Jackie Q, a bad taste pop star (not unsimilar to Ke$ha) and his spiral back into drug and alcohol depression. While tragic, this paves the way for music executive Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) to make his mark in the industry. His boss Sergio (P. Diddy) needs to help pick up the failing music business and Aldous Snow-fanatic Aaron thinks a comeback concert from the troubled rockstar is just the thing. But with drugs to take, alcohol to drink and women to !@*#, Aldous isn't going anywhere quick.
So there's the concept. Great! The whole way through Sarah Marshall Aldous was sober, yet was funnier and crazier than anyone else in the movie. The same guy on drugs and alcohol could only mean bigger and better of what we've seen, yeah? Almost.
Forgive yourself for thinking this was just a comedy; it's trailer marketed it that way. But Get Him To The Greek also delves into the dark side of fame, fortune, "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll". Unfortunately, while this was a credible idea, it doesn't come off so well. Rather than flow on like a story, this feels more like a sequence of clips, both comdedic and dramatic, about the life of a rockstar. Seperately they would be great, but they don't piece together so well. This makes Aldous Snow a more likeable secondary character that was better off as a secondary character.
Here's hoping there's opportunity for more Aldous in the future...in moderation of course.
2½ stars.
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-The Prince
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