Starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell. Written by Jason Segel. Directed by Nicholas Stoller. (18A) 110 min. Opens April 18.
Opportunities for even the most disgusting schlub to show off his sensitive side have become a fixture in the movies to emerge from Judd Apatow’s comedy shop. Yet Forgetting Sarah Marshall — a very appealing showcase for star and writer Jason Segel, most familiar as one of Seth Rogen’s pals in Knocked Up — goes even further by requiring its male hero to essentially sob his way through the movie’s first half. Not only does poor Peter (Segel) lose it when dumped by the titular Sarah (Kristen Bell), he cries during the inevitable round of meaningless sexual encounters that are supposed to assuage his heartbreak. Inadvertently booking a holiday at the same Hawaiian resort where his TV-actress ex is vacationing with her new rock-star lover gives him cause to wail some more.
Segel’s willingness to be weepy may be even more courageous than his eagerness to go full frontal (he’s a veritable one-man sausage party). It’s also evidence of the emotional generosity that makes Forgetting Sarah Marshall richer and funnier than every other frat-pack variation on the romantic comedy. Though there’s great side business by 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer, the indispensable Paul Rudd and William Baldwin (playing Sarah’s co-star on a hilariously spot-on CSI parody), Peter’s tropical misadventures yield the biggest laughs. Director Nicholas Stoller lets it all roll on for too long but the fact that Segel’s script includes female characters with some nuance (relatively speaking, at least) is another reason this is the most enjoyable Apatow project since The 40-Year-Old Virgin.