So, in a time where TV show’s are being converted into movies at the rate of at least a million every year, there is a huge thirst for something different, something fresh and god forbid, something a little original. And by Christ, am I thirsty!!! If you would, cast your mind back to Forgetting Sarah Marshall you’ll remember Aldous Snow, the self indulgent, arrogant but very likeable rock star portrayed by a “ starting to break down the doors of Hollywood “ Russell Brand!
Well have the doors been knocked down? Get Him To The Greek is not exactly a sequel to FSM, but more of a spin off. The story follows Snow, who has been on the sober wagon for a number of years, then falls off it with a bang and his subsequent trans-Atlantic trip to L.A. accompanied by Aaron Green (Jonah Hill). Green has got 72 hours to get Snow to The Greek Theater for the 10th Anniversary of Snow’s gigantic live show! Under strict instructions from Sergio Roma (Diddy) Green goes on the trip of a lifetime to get his hero to L.A. The excursion starts in London, then moves to New York and eventually they get to L.A. via Las Vegas with plenty of hilarity on route. But will the show go on?
Get Him To The Greek delivers a stellar performance from it’s cast. Jonah Hill as always, is solid as rock and at times steals the show on numerous occasions. He is incredibly likeable and proves a stark contrast to the junkee rockstar that Snow is. Speaking of Snow, Russell Brand has really arrived in my book. Whether or not he keeps on the up is down to him, but he is absolutely brilliant as the demented, junkie rockstar Aldous Snow. And it’s not just slapstick comedy here. At time's Brand goes into very dark places, in particular when he needs heroin and other times he has just a great innocence about him and a smile that can melt even the hardest of hearts. So much so, that at the end, I almost felt like shedding a few tears. As for those doors? They have been well and truly kicked in!
Colm Meany gets a look in as well, as Snow’s long last Dad, but to be honest, his accent leaves him down a bit. It’s not the most consistent British impression I’ve heard, but it’s not too distracting as Meany takes part in the funniest scenes in the movie. But there’s no reason why Snow’s old man couldn’t have been Irish. But for me, the real show stealer is Sean Diddy Combs. I wished there were more scenes with the music mogul, but when he is on screen, he is just hilariously brilliant!
Get Him To The Greek has some of the funniest scenes in a movie for quite some time. There are genuinely, more laugh out loud scenes here than in most of the recent comedies from the last 12 months put together. The shenanigans in the Vegas hotel room are how comedy scenes should be done all the time!!!!
With enough cameos to shake a stick at, including a brilliant Lars Ulrich, who finally can laugh at himself, Get Him To The Greek also features a pretty impressive soundtrack, with Russell Brand on singing duties. I picked it up yesterday and it’s been on repeat constantly, in particular the furry walls track.
So is there anything bad to say about GHTTG? Honestly…Nope. Not a thing. Nicholas Stoller has done a fantastic job here with a movie that will have you entertained from start to finish. I suppose, if I had to nit pick, it might be the fact that you’ll probably piss yourself from laughing at least twice! Easily, the funniest movie of the last few years and a movie that you simply must go to see!
My Get Him To The Greek special is now available to download. Simply clicky here to open iTunes and download away. Featuring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, we had a pretty big reaction to this last night so get downloading ;) If you hate iTunes download it direct here, although if at all possible please download from the iTunes link as it drives the podcast up the charts and I want all the fame, fortune and so on that is associated with that! Ahem!
