Finally, getting to "The Greek"

I waited quite a while to see “Get Him to the Greek” and finally watched it this past week, more than two months after its release on DVD. Frankly, I don’t know what I was waiting for.

For some reason I found myself nervous. I didn’t want to dislike it, but all I’d heard were fairly negative things about the film. The problem is, I enjoyed “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” of which “Greek” was supposed to be a spinoff, and I didn’t want to be disappointed. “Marshall” had gained a cult following after its release on DVD, and I was one of those that jumped aboard after watching it a few times.

In “Marshall,” Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow, the airheaded, crazy pop-singer boyfriend of Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), an “accomplished” actress best known for a CSI-type show. The two run into Marshall’s ex-boyfriend Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) at a Hawaii resort, where shenanigans ensue. Jonah Hill is also in the film as a worker at the resort who is a mega fan of Snow’s ridiculous songs. The movie is directed by Nicholas Stoller and produced by Judd Apatow, who has had his fingers in quite a few winners the last five years.

“Greek” brings back the main components of “Marshall” from director and producer to main characters. While Brand again plays Snow, Hill is a whole new character, which kind of threw me off when I originally heard about the film. Hill plays Aaron Green, an employee at Los Angeles music label Pinnacle, owned by the rambunctious, eccentric Sergio (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs). Combs appearance surprised me as well. The first CD I bought as a kid was “No Way Out” by Puff Daddy, and to say the man has changed in the last 14 years is quite an understatement. But, Combs does a great job and is actually quite funny in what I believe to be his first foray into acting.

Green comes up with the idea for Snow to perform a 10-year anniversary show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and his boss Sergio eventually agrees, giving Green the assignment of picking Snow up in London and bringing him back to LA in time for a concert three days away.

The problem, of course, is that Snow is severely depressed and back to his old ways of excessive drug and alcohol use. During his time in “Marshall,” Snow says he has been sober for seven years (except for a memorable, awkward dinner during the film). He’s having woman problems again and his latest album, “African Child” has completely bombed. Snow is down and out, making appearances on TMZ drunk and reckless, constantly getting into trouble.

Green arrives in London, fresh off a break-up with his long-time girlfriend, and finds himself under the influence of Snow, whom he reveres, pretty quickly. While Green is worried about catching their flight to New York City for an appearance on the “Today” show, Snow continues to put it off, insisting on chasing girls and getting drunk.

One of the funnier scenes is in New York on the way to Snow’s “Today” appearance. Sergio insists on Green keeping Snow sober for the bit, which Green attempts to do by guzzling whiskey and imbibing other drugs in the limo on the way to the show. The scene even includes a cameo by renowned Princeton economist Paul Krugman.

Cameos abound, as do funny scenes and jokes, as the duo makes their way across the country to Snow’s show at the Greek. At times, it tries to be a little too serious, but in the end, goes back to slapstick and some gross-out humor that doesn’t lack for laughs. Brand is great as snow, Combs is not bad as Sergio and Hill does well as the straight man for once.

Despite my initial reservations, I found myself laughing out loud, by myself, quite a bit. And even Sarah Marshall makes a short cameo when we see the preview for her newest TV show titled “Blind Medicine” where she stars as a blind surgeon: excellent.

“Get Him to the Greek” is rated R for sexual content, drug use and lots of profanity; definitely not recommended for younger folks. I rate it 7 out of 10 stars. Check it out at Crazy Mike’s in Polson where it’s available for five-day rental.

Here's the trailer: