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Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Cast: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Writer: Jason Segel
Here's yet another romantic comedy, but which rather surprisingly would actually be quite a decent piece, were it not for
some glaring flaws. First and foremost is the lead character, Peter (Jason Segel). His TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall has
just dumped him, and he isn't taking it terribly well. Peter's supposed to be a slightly loveable loser and I expect the premise
is that blokes watching the film won't feel threatened, thus attracting a significant new portion of the cinema-going public
which traditionally eschews 'rom-coms'.
Unfortunately Segel simply isn't up to the task. Although Peter is relatively believeable, and believeably crushed when
he is unceremoniously chucked, he's also extremely dull and this is the main problem with the film. We're supposed to be rooting
for Peter, but by the time we see anything other than his relentless wallowing in self pity, it's too late.
It's a shame, because the script (apart from a bombardment of "totally" and "awesome" clichés, is
actually quite good. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is actually an extremely difficult thing for Peter to do, since he finds himself
in close proximity to not just her, but also her new squeeze Aldous Snow of enfant terrible rock band 'Infant Sorrow'. Kristen
Bell plays the titular character very well, and the scenes from her crap TV show featuring William Baldwin are hilariously
bad. Comedian/TV/DJ Russell Brand plays pop star Aldous, and his character is basically a direct extension of his stand-up/telly
persona, but he is terrific nonetheless. What's particularly impressive about the script is the fact that everyone's so nice.
Aldous is quite a friendly guy for all his superstar flaws, and we frequently get to see the genuinely touching side of Sarah.
This makes for a much more dynamic film than if they'd simply been arseholes the whole time. To top it off, there's a whole
host of minor characters who are all too willing to do what they can to help Peter - it seems the whole world is on his side.
Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill unfortunately get lumped with pretty pathetic roles, their characters summed up by little more than
a punch line.
Mila Kunis (who also voices Meg on 'Family Guy') is bright, chirpy and sensible - just what you'd expect in a love interest.
Her scenes with Peter bring out the best in Segel, but it's still not enough. That Segel wrote this often witty film, yet
is by miles the least accomplished performer is a shame.
Leatherheads
Cast
Dodge: George Clooney
Carter: John Krasinski
Lexie: Renee Zellweger
CC Frazier: Jonathan Pryce
Suds: Stephen Root
Ferguson: Wayne Duvall
Written by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly
Directed by George Clooney
Running time: 111 minutes
'Leatherheads' has the makings of a nostalgic homage to screwball comedies, but George Clooney's latest directorial effort
just falls short of executing in a manner that would be appealing to mainstream audiences.
The year is 1925, and though professional American football exists, it has yet to become legitimised as an official league.
Teams play games in the middle of rural, welcome fans by the hundreds, and follow absolutely no rules. When the league begins
to fold due to a lack of interest, however, Duluth Bulldogs captain Dodge Connolly (Clooney) sets out to save his job. His
saviour comes in the form of Carter 'The Bullet' Rutherford (John Krasinski), an American war hero and college football star
with a fanbase well into the tens of thousands. Confident that Carter's move to the big leagues will increase interest in
the sport, Dodge makes a deal with Carter's agent (Jonathan Pryce) to bring him over from Princeton to play for Duluth. Along
for the ride is Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), a star reporter for the Chicago Tribune who's been assigned to uncover
the truth behind Carter's highly publicised first world war tale about single-handedly defeating an entire German platoon.
The film somewhat abandons the football subplot relatively quickly, turning its attention to Lexie's newspaper story and
the love triangle between her, Dodge and Carter for the remainder of the film. Both prove less entertaining than the potential
comedy that would have come from following around the ragtag team and both have been done several times before which supposedly
is the point. Clooney is clearly a fan of screwball comedies (as witnessed in past films with the Coen brothers), and while
a flick like this certainly doesn't need someone like him behind the camera, it's a project that he's obviously passionate
about.
He might just be a little too passionate, however, because whilst Clooney rarely chooses a bad script, 'Leatherheads'
is the kind of film that he would have signed on for without even reading one. Written by first-time scribes Duncan Brantley
and sports columnist Rick Reilly, 'Leatherheads' is littered with just about every 1920s movie cliché short of an evil villain
that twists his moustache when he laughs. It even includes the trademark bar fight, complete with a piano player who stops
mid-song to smash a bottle over someone's head. Granted, the three stars have excellent comedic timing, but it's all just
a little too daft for the average cinemagoer.
While Clooney deserves credit for trying, a little research would have shown that this concept rarely works. The last
time a studio tried to replicate a decade-specific production was 2003's 'Down with Love', and though that was actually pretty
good, it failed miserably at the box office. 'Leatherheads' could have been even better, but Clooney tries to accomplish too
much in the time allotted. He desperately wants 'Leatherheads' to be both a screwball comedy and romantic comedy, while existing
in two separate worlds but it somehow just doesn't quite come off.
PS: Anyone else notice the glaring continuity error when Clooney's Dodge is about to propose earlier to Zellweger's Lexie
and the latter has strangely piled on the pounds with her podgy cheeks glaring out at him? (Do I smell a later cast recall
for a re-shoot, with Renee preparing/over-indulging for another Bridget Jones perhaps?!)
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