Get Him to the Greek

Featuring characters from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek follows record executive Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) as he’s assigned the task of accompanying hard-partying musician Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to a pivotal gig at Los Angeles’ Greek Theater – with the simple journey inevitably fraught with complications and mishaps. There’s little doubt that Get Him to the Greek fares best in its early stages, as filmmaker Nicholas Stoller has infused the proceedings with a rapid-fire pace that’s enhanced by the compelling performances and sporadically hilarious screenplay. Hill’s surprisingly strong work is matched by an impressive supporting cast that includes Rose Byrne, Elisabeth Moss, and Colm Meaney, yet it’s Sean Combs’ scene-stealing turn as Aaron’s aggressive boss that ultimately stands as the film’s most engaging attribute. It’s also worth noting that the episodic structure is initially not as problematic as one might’ve anticipated, as Stoller effectively offers up a number of compelling and laugh-out-loud funny interludes that perpetuate the movie’s affable atmosphere (eg a botched trip to The Today Show). It’s only as Get Him to the Greek passes its midway point that it begins to seriously run out of steam, however, with the emphasis on a seemingly endless series of party scenes slowly but surely wearing the viewer down (eg Aaron and Aldous wreak havoc in Vegas, Aaron and Aldous drink absinthe and go nuts, etc, etc). The progressively tedious vibe is exacerbated by the head-scratching inclusion of several dramatic encounters between the various characters, as Aaron attempts to reconcile with his estranged girlfriend and Aldous is forced to confront both the father that abandoned him years ago and the child that he thought was his son but really isn’t. It’s consequently not surprising to note that Get Him to the Greek ultimately overstays its welcome in a manner that’s nothing short of breathtaking, with the end result a promising endeavor that inevitably establishes itself as the worst example of the post-Apatow buddy comedy.

*1/2 out of ****