Review of 'Get Him to the Greek'

Jonah Hill is a likeable everyman in Get Him to the Greek. The actor has often been the loudest, most intentionally vulgar presence in the likes of Superbad and Knocked Up, but here he wisely leaves it to the rest of the cast to make their music business-types as explosive as possible, all the while leaving Hill to act as the vital anchor. Supporting him and standing out amongst the multitude of star cameos are a Lily Allen-esque Rose Byrne - often so bland she's nearly invisible, but not here - and Sean Combs as Green's borderline-insane studio boss. Combs isn't the most capable of actors, and there is something curiously missing behind those eyes, but he does bring some of the biggest laughs via his impressive, almost entirely improvised dialogue. And I haven't even mentioned the acting ace in Get Him to the Greek's deck yet...

Yes, a talented cast is present here. Alas, they've been saddled with director Nicholas Stoller, someone that can control neither the chaos of Get Him to the Greek's heavy improvisation or its loose structure. Nor can Stoller get a handle on the tone, which wildly swings from gross-out humour - example: Green inserting smuggled drugs into his rectum - to awkward moments of darkness that feel somewhat out of place - example: Snow baring his fragile soul following a suicide attempt.

Fortunately for the viewer, the movie is lucky enough to have the mercurial presence of Russell Brand as Aldous Snow, consistently delivering laughs throughout. Even more at ease here than he was in (Stoller's previous directing gig) the distinctly average Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Brand embodies Snow, a heavy-living rock buffoon, impacting like a lightning bolt whenever he's on screen.

Brand also has potential as a serious actor from the evidence presented in Get Him to the Greek. Admittedly he is playing only a slightly more fleshed-out variation of his Forgetting Sarah Marshall character, itself a version on Brand himself, but he brings immense depth to someone who didn't even really require it. Brand adds to being effortlessly funny in the movie an ability to convincingly convey the degrees of bitterness, self-loathing and cruelty lurking within Snow. You wouldn't necessarily expect it from the comedian.

Not a great film, but a vast improvement on its predecessor, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Get Him to the Greek is funny, occasionally even hilarious, in bursts, but needlessly dark in other moments, suffering from a dip in quality whenever Brand is absent. Thankfully he's present for the majority of the movie, meaning Get Him to the Greek is never anything less than enjoyable.