I saw Get Him to the Greek late last week, and I wanted to let it breathe a bit before putting my thoughts down. I should mention a couple of things here: (1) I haven't seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and (2) Universal treated the entire audience to an appetizer plate and a drink on the studio's dime.
It should go without saying, but let me assure you that it takes more than a can of cider and some Bangers and Mash to make me like something. The movie is better than you'd expect from a synopsis or the trailer. Those less than enthused by the trailer should know that there's not much that's "All Audiences"-friendly in the movie itself. I can attest that the movie stands just fine on its own, only noticeably referencing Forgetting Sarah Marshall for about thirty seconds.
In Greek, Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow, a washed-up and played-out rock star who's adrift after a disastrous album and breakup. I've never outright hated Brand, but then, I've only seen him in one movie (St. Trinian's). Jonah Hill plays Aaron Green, a guy trying to climb the ladder at a record label run by Sergio Roma (Sean "Diddy" Combs). Aaron regards Aldous as the last genuine rock star in an era of manufactured, auto-tuned garbage. Aaron pitches his boss on the idea of an anniversary show at the Greek Theater echoing Snow's most famous concert. Aaron gets the green light, but is charged with herding the unruly rocker from London to L.A.
What follows is a sex, drugs, and rock n' roll movie (emphasis on drugs) that, like a good old-school concept album, never hits a bad track. Brand's own projected persona reinforces his portrayal of Aldous, which is outrageous and over-the-top, but never inauthentic. The script works in his favor, giving him believable personal issues, a dislikable absent dad (Colm Meaney), and an imperative to figure out what he really wants out of life. They took a one-note caricature, framed him in the classic fall from grace/rise from the ashes rock star story, and it works marvelously.
Hill settles very naturally into the role of a music lover who wants to evangelize good music in a world where solid tunes are an endangered species. He gives the movie its center and audience surrogate, but more importantly, he makes you feel like he's not just there for a residual and an IMDb entry. Snappy, intelligently-written comedy is just as rare as a good album these days.
The movie is stuffed from both ends with celebrity cameos (none of which I'll spoil), but the person that steals every moment given to him is Diddy. Sean Combs has acted previously, but here he gets to go unhinged and really lets the crazy out. Part of it is certainly the fact that a recording magnate (this one in particular) is sending up his own profession, but the other piece is unrestrained commitment to going full-on nutso in places. He's involved in one of the most gut-busting chase sequences I've seen in years and leave it at that.
Provided enough people see it opening weekend, the general vibe that Get Him to the Greek has in common with The Hangover could make it a surprise moneymaker thanks to word of mouth. All they need to do is sneak the movie in college towns and the big cities early during the week of release and they're good.
Unlike the promise of Hot Tub Time Machine, this one could go all the way and do Hangover business to the same audience that made that one a big success. This is the "let's get fucked up and see a movie" flick that MGM was hoping Hot Tub could be.
Lest you think the audience went easy on Greek, Universal ponied up for something similar last year for a screening of Land of the Lost. The audience was less than impressed in spite of the potent drinks being mixed, and the word of mouth was poisonous.
I never got a press invite, though others did. I usually do for early Universal screenings (the MacGruber one is sitting in my inbox as we speak), so I only got in by the grace of emailing AICN to get in via "lottery" like anyone else. I'm assuming there's a press embargo, but since the studio didn't get me in and I didn't agree to anything, here we are.