In what is easily the funniest movie of the year, Russell Brand brings his Aldous Snow character back to the silver screen for a second time. If the name Aldous Snow sounds familiar it’s probably because you’ve seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film where Brand played the same character. Turns out Mr. Snow was popular enough to get his own film and it comes in the form of Get Him To The Greek.
Just by looking at the producer credit, which goes to Mr. Judd Apatow, you would be foolish not to know what to expect. Hi-jinxes and shenanigans akin to those found in Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The 40 Year Old Virgin ensue. It’s a typical Apatow film, but it’s also probably one of the best.
As mentioned before, Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow, a narcissistic, anarchic and down on his luck rock star. While Aldous and his band Infant Sorrow used to be a big deal, he has recently fallen on hard times. He split with his wife Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) and he has turned to alcohol and drugs to keep busy.
Enter Aaron Green (Jonah Hill). Aaron Green works for a record company that is looking for the next big thing. As his boss Sergio (Sean ‘P.Diddy’ Combs) tells him ‘We gotta thicken our revenue stream, the music business is failing’.
Green, a lifelong Infant Sorrow fan, suggests having a concert for the band at the famous Greek theatre. Aldous Snow played the Greek 10 years ago and it was wildly successful. Green thinks it’d be a great comeback idea to have Snow play the Greek again. He also thinks that it would make Sergio a ton of money. Sergio agrees and tells Aaron to fly to London, pick up Aldous and get him to the Greek theatre in 72 hours.
This is the basic premise and the plot doesn’t go much deeper than that. There’s no real build up or anything but it never really seems to hurt the film. It’s a bit of a conventional story but luckily it never feels boring or tedious.
The duo of Hill and Brand works exceptionally well. In this sort-of sequel, Brand clearly carries the film but Hill offers a better than expected performance and supports Brand perfectly. Brand reprises his role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and he is essentially playing a toned down version of himself. He really gives off a genuine rock star persona though and he pulls off the role wonderfully. He’s also incredibly funny and his chemistry with Hill is a joy to watch.
As mentioned before, Hill is also great. It’s probably one of his best roles and although he’s still slowly easing out of the ‘Superbad’ stage, it’s clear that the kid has some talent. He plays off of Brand’s character very well and every scene between the two of them is absolutely hilarious.
Perhaps though the real star of the show goes to Sean ‘P.Diddy’ Combs. Every single line that came out of his mouth was truly laugh out loud funny. He was responsible for some of the funniest moments of the film and I would love to see a spin off with his character.
There are honestly some brilliant comedic moments here and like in most Apatow films, things are taken very far, but they still work. The plain outrageous nature of some of the events that occur simply make it all the more humorous. It truly is a laugh out loud film.
A couple scenes in particular will induce pleasant memories from The Hangover as some of the Vegas scenes here are just as crazy. Get Him To The Greek never tries to be The Hangover though. It implements a different style of humour, one that like The Hangover, will have you in tears at some parts.
As an added bonus, all the music in the film is actually really well written. The lyrics are hilarious, the tunes are catchy and Brand and Byrne pull off all their songs really well. I’ve listened to the soundtrack many times and it never gets old.
What few faults the film does have are never too intrusive. The structural and editing side of things could have been better as it does get messy at points. There is also a bit too much conventionality and predictability. Aside from this, Elisabeth Moss is a bit of a weak link in the cast. She just feels out of place and comes off as not belonging in the film. She doesn’t really compliment the tone and feel of the picture and it’s an odd casting choice to say the least.
Get Him To The Greek is a clever comedy where everything just works so well. Considering Brand reprises his role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall but Hill doesn’t may prove for some confusion in terms of if it’s a sequel, spin-off etc but in the end it doesn’t really matter.
The two leads shine and the chemistry between them is superb. They work with a sharp script and infuse just the right amount of ad libbing and improv into the film to make it one hell of a fun watch.
It’s a clever satire and at the same time an over the top, no holds barred, wild ride though the world of of the music business. Stoller does a great job at spoofing it, hitting all the right notes and making sure anyone involved in the industry will pick up on more than a few inside jokes
Get Him To The Greek is the funniest movie I saw all year and anyone who enjoys laughing (which is probably everyone) owes it to themselves to see this comedic gem
Great
Get Him To The Greek is absolutely hilarious. With great music and amusing chemistry between the two leads, it's definitely a must-see.
Get Him To The Greek Review
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