Approaching Get Him To The Greek, there were two big concerns:-
1/ Would director Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow (whose last team up Forgetting Sarah Marshall was unfunny enough for me to turn off 20 minutes in) be able to deliver the comedic goods this time?
2/ Would flamboyant comedian Russell Brand be able to carry an entire movie with his poncing around?
The answer to both questions was fortunately yes!
While Greek still has the rambling qualities of all Apatow movies, there's enough R rated jollies packed into this buddy movie to justify watching it. Jonah Hill is the affable record company man that has to get irresponsible rock star Aldous Snow to the concert at the Greek Theatre in L.A. in 3 days. Comic set-pieces happen, relationships are re-evaluated and people swear aplenty.
Apart from getting to throw up every 15 minutes, Hill plays the hapless straight man to everybody else who's pushing the boundaries of taste and silliness. Sean 'P Diddy' Combs can't act for toffee but his dead-eyed, ranting delivery makes him perfect for delivering deadpan humour. The cute Rose Byrne proves she can play comedy playing Brand's slutty pop star girlfriend, complete with gormless Cockney accent too. Brand himself is a movie star in the making...never really acting...just playing a bravado version of himself with enthusiasm and conviction. It's on his shoulders that the movie rests; without his likability and talent for improvisation the film would collapse.
There's some nice cameo's from Lars Ulrich, Pink, Zoe Salmon, Tom Felton and Kristen Bell (playing themselves) and some groovy musical interludes as well. All in all a very silly and funny comedy that far exceeds Apatow's last effort Funny People. If you don't like Russell Brand, chances are you won't like this, but if you do, like me you'll be looking forward to his remake of Arthur in 2011.
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