I’m a big fan of Russell Brand but he seems to be somewhat overshadowed by Jonah Hill in Get Him to the Greek. Hill easily steals the show and is the main reason this film is funny, I may even go as far as saying he’s the only reason this movie is funny. Without Hill this movie may have fallen down, but luckily he keeps everything a float throughout the course of the film.
It's only rock'n'roll but we like it...
The storyline to ‘Get him to the Greek’ is quite simple; Aaron Green (Hill), a record company intern and all time fan of Aldous Snow (Brand) – a world famous musician, has to escort Snow from London to a 10 year anniversary show in the Greek Theatre in L.A, and Snow being the rock star and womanizer that he is, causes them to run behind schedule and spiral into a nightlife of partying, alcohol and drugs. Along the way, Snow reveals that his lifestyle is swallowing him up and he undertakes a journey to find himself. This sub-plot becomes overwhelming near the end of the movie, which causes the laughs to dwindle.
Unfortunately, the movie also starts off fairly slow with good jokes few and far between. But despite the slow start and fairly serious ending, there are still quite a few laughs during the course of the film. I did find myself laughing for a full 5 minutes straight at one scene in particular that I won’t spoil for you – in which Colm Meaney plays Aldous’ father, Jonathon Snow.
Over the Hill...
I have to say that the character Aldous Snow gets somewhat tiring during the course of the film, maybe it’s because most of the jokes have already been used in Forgetting Sarah Marshall or maybe it’s just because the junky rock star role is just recycled comedy. It’s entertaining, it just seems it’s been seen all before.
Other than Hill and Brand, this movie doesn’t have much else to offer except the celebrity cameos. The main disappointment in this movie, I feel, was P. Diddy as Sergio Roma – Aaron’s Boss. It’s as if he was trying too hard and his excessive swearing just didn’t cut it. I just felt he was trying to follow in the footsteps of Tom Cruise, who play Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, and failed miserably.
All in all, this movie is a good laugh and a bit of fun, nothing more, nothing less. A 6.5/10. I enjoyed it but I won’t be watching it again anytime soon. If you’re a fan of Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall then I say give this a go!
Ciaran’s Score: 6.5/10
Note: A special thanks to my guest reviewer, Ciaran, for stepping in and attending the premiere thrown by the wonderful folks at Universal Pictures Ireland. I’ll be checking out the film myself this Friday, so check back then for my own perspective. – Darren
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: aldous snow, comedy, films, get him to the greek, jonah hill, Movies, non-review review, p. diddy, puff daddy, review, russell brand, sean combc |
Great write-up Ciaran.