DVD Review #47 (Get Him to the Greek 2010)

Get Him to the Greek (2010) Russell Brand, Jonah Hill Directed By Nicholas Stoller

Some movies are exactly as advertised and some movies go places that you might never expect…Oddly Get Him to the Greek was advertised as a raunch out comedy full of sex and drugs…but it doesn’t take all that long to figure out that this film written by Nicholas Stoller & Jason Segal (both from the Apatow tree that brought us the genius that is Superbad) is much more than just a straight comedy, it actually has a few messages that are surprisingly poignant and shockingly kinda touching. Unfortunately those moments feel pretty out of place in this film. Unlike Knocked Up or Superbad where those moments fit in seamlessly, Get Him to the Greek just takes sharp turns that aren’t meant to be funny and they take you by surprise in a downer way. Though I did appreciate where the film went, it frankly just didn’t fit quite right…sometimes random works, but mix random with raunch and heavy, things just get convoluted and nonsensical. All that said Russell Brand does a nice job with his popular Aldous Snow character (made famous in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Jonah Hill makes you laugh. I wouldn’t run to the Redbox or anything, but if your favorite show is on reruns this week, why not rent Get Him to the Greek for some laughs.

Get Him to the Greek is the continuing story of rocker Aldous Snow (played perfectly by Russell brand) who after a tragic fall from stardom (with an awesomely racist song called African Child) is convinced to do an anniversary concert at the Greek Theater. Tasked with picking up drunk, drug addicted, and generally unruly Aldous from his London home and bringing him to L.A. is Aaron green (played well by Jonah Hill). As you may imagine things like making flight times and being sober are not in the cards for a rocker, so getting him from one place to another ends up being a pretty hilarious task. There are lots of cameos that will keep you entertained along the ride to include a funny performance from P Diddy and a sweet little role for Mad Men’s own Elisabeth Moss (as Aaron’s Girlfriend who greenlights a threesome!). The movie though funny, does stray from straight comedy as it touches on some serious issues and even may get some emotion out of you (though not many of you, most of you will ask “why did this stop being funny?”. It all just felt a bit messy though in the end, and the original music was less than awesome. Get Him to the Greek isn’t a standout comedy, but it does the job and contains some funny memorable lines that you will take with you. Watch it but don’t rush.

(The Shawshank Scale 1-10) I will give a solid 6.0 on the Shawshank Scale for being both funny and unpredictable…but in the end I did want a bit more funny…right then, cheerio. (Man I miss the British accent in my daily life).