Ink Blotting - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Posted on Sunday, June 08, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this before. The Break Up was close, but it definitely didn't leave me feeling as cheerful, nay, jubilant after leaving the theatre. It's likely to be in the cheap theatre soon, over at Canyon Meadows, but it was well worth the price of admission. If you can catch it in the multiplex then I recommend you see it there, as when I saw it with the missus we were the only people in the entire theatre and got to laugh and talk as loud as we wanted while the movie was played solely for our benefit.

But enough about that. Let's talk about the opening scenes of this movie – Penis. There isn't a lot of shown penis in those opening 5 minutes, but it's enough to provoke a lot of commentary from critics and commentators out there. The two camps on the penis issue rest in "humorous" and "baffled" about it being so blatant. But rather than offer a quote from a well-known critic, I'll give up what my wife said while we were in the theatre, and my response:

Marie-Claire: Wow, he's well hung.
Kyle: It's a 40 foot screen, anyone would look well hung.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is refreshing. The characters and characterizations in this comedy are ones you've seen before but they're played with such an honesty and openness that lend a lot of credence to their believability. The setting is picturesque and provides a beautiful, relaxed backdrop for a story that is, at its heart, agonizing and worrisome. Peter has gone to Hawaii to take a break from life and try to get over the "old woman crying" he's going through as a result of his long-time girlfriend, Sarah Marshall, breaking up with him. There's just something immediately romantic about movies set in Hawaii, whether it's Blue Paradise or 50 First Dates, movies are always made a little friendlier and a lot more attractive when set on that island paradise. So even when your ex-girl friend shows up at the same resort you're trying to stay at the agony and the worry can, at times, diffuse into the sunshine, surf and splendor of Hawaii and you can truly find serenity and peace.

Critics have generally liked Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And you will too if you enjoyed seeing Knocked Up, for while the subject matter is quite a bit different, many of the same actors are in the movie and the particular outlook on life the director and writer team view the subject matter through is the same. If you haven't seen Knocked Up, then I recommend renting that movie first, and if you like it – continue on and see Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

3.5 stars out of 4

Kyle Gould is a University of Calgary Graduate in English devoutly trying to make the 25,000 dollar piece of parchment not just a glorified ink blot. Currently it would serve better as a Rorschach test. Feel free to throw some ink his way at wkkgould@hotmail.com.