Rated R for strong sexual content and drug use throughout, and pervasive language, 109 minutes
Hilariously raunchy, "Get Him to the Greek" rocks on
The new comedy "Get Him to the Greek" is what the recent, dreadful "MacGruber" should've been: profanely, laugh-out funny with a coherent story that holds it together. Starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, it's actually a spin-off featuring Brand's character, Aldous Snow, from the film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (Hill was also in that film, as a different character). This Judd Apatow-produced film is efficient, well-written, featuring a good bit of laugh-out moments and is nearly stolen by a well-known rapper.
Hill is Aaron Green, an L.A. record-company assistant living his girlfriend Daphne ("Mad Men's" Elisabeth Moss). His boss is the profane, greedy Sergio (Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs), who is looking for the next big money-making project. Green is a huge fan of veteran rocker Aldous Snow (Brand), who's experiencing a career downturn after the failure of his last song, "African Child" and the breakup of his relationship with pop singer Suzy Q. (Rose Byrne), with whom he has a child. Aaron's idea is to feature an anniversary concert of Snow at the famous Greek Theater in L.A., which is brilliant until Sergio puts the naive Aaron in charge of getting the wildly unpredictable Snow from London to L.A. in time for the concert. Easier said than done and it will be a miracle if Snow makes it in one piece.
"Get Him to the Greek" is the sleeper comedy of the summer, featuring some of the wildest, funniest moments since "The Hangover" last summer. Don't go expecting a clean, high-brow comedy, either, as it has some of the bawdiest bits of comic hilarity seen in some time. Hill is the perfect straight man to Brand's self-absorbed, dirty rocker, who gets his straight-laced assistant into all kinds of awful trouble, from a "Today" show mishap, to stuffing drugs down his pants, to a very wild, rather furry time in Las Vegas.
It helps that "Greek" is terrifically written and directed by the "Sarah Marshall" team of Jason Segel (better known for the TV show "How I Met Your Mother") and Nicholas Stoller, who handled the film with fun energy and pop. Watch for some delicious cameos from a slew of rock/pop stars, including Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera to Pink, as well as a one with Sarah Marshall herself (Kristen Bell).
But the biggest and most memorable surprise from "Get Him to the Greek" is the side-splitting performance from rapper Combs, who nearly steals the show in a performance that should win him some accolades, as foul-mouthed record executive Sergio, who delivers some of the movie's best lines ("You can't outrun me, I'm black!" he shouts to Aaron). It comes as totally unexpected in the vein of Tom Cruise in "Tropic Thunder."
The film is predictable and too busy at times, with awkwardly handled moments (especially a misplaced attempt at a threesome, which really doesn't belong here), and as good as Moss is as Aaron's girlfriend, that whole subplot is really unnecessary. Still, "Get Him to the Greek" delivers some of the best comedic pieces this year and far outpaces "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which was amusing but not great, and the best moments in that film belonged to Brand.
"Get Him to the Greek" is (so far) the most entertaining, winning comedy of the summer, and definitely comes recommended.
