Why So Blu?

Get Him to the Greek …and You to the Theater!

With the Blackhawks throwing away game 3 in the Stanley Cup Finals, and also game 4 as I write this, I needed a definite pick-me-up this week.  MacGruber was recommended to me by a co-worker a few days ago, but honestly, I cannot bring myself to anything more than a rental for that film.  Was I doomed to an anti-laughing purgatory to start off the month of June?  I did notice some film called Get Him to the Greek was coming out on June 4th, which slightly diverted my interest. The poster featured a very excited Russell Brand and one semi-nervous Jonah Hill, so I thought what the heck, I’ll give it a bash.

Now, I haven’t seen many films with Jonah Hill and I thought Superbad was highly overrated.  Strike one for Greek. In addition, I’ve never really seen Russell Brand in action, but I heard he was absolutely awful in his attempts at humor on an MTV awards show.  Strike two.  I just came out of Get Him to the Greek.  Home run.  Jonah Hill takes on the role of Aaron Greene, a record label intern who has the task of babysitting his rock n’ roll idol and making sure he gets to the Greek Theater on time for a comeback concert.  The journey is simple in concept; get English rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from London to L.A. with a TV appearance along the way.  The reality of it is Snow fell off the sobriety wagon months ago and his incessant partying, drinking, and drug-taking is more than a little roadblock along the way.

From the time the film started and Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs made his introduction as the hot-headed music exec, he opened up with a barrage of brutish sarcasm that had me rolling in my chair…and he’s only a minor character.  The main characters of Aldous Snow and Aaron Greene are polar opposites, but their chemistry is so solid that they play quite charismatically off of one another.  Snow is carefree and high, though he is trying to recover from brighter days with his band, Infant Sorrow.  Greene is by the book, living a life of the mundane with a girlfriend who is always too tired to interact with him.  Between Snow’s addiction to partying and Greene’s dire need to get him to various locations, Greene’s frustration sets in as does the relentless humor.  It’s vulgar, graphic, and offensive and I loved every minute of it.

The film’s delivery is quick-witted and always brash with a touch of ridiculousness that is the proverbial cherry on top.  It isn’t until later on that Aldous begins to encounter the darker side of things, previously clouded by his life-in-the-fast-lane behavior.  Thankfully, not much length is spent on this aspect as the director and crew managed to nail just the right timing down.  Any longer and there would have been a serious disruption in the flow of the comedic onslaught that is found here. In addition to a change of pace from the film’s humor, you will also find Russell Brand getting in touch with his singing side, belting out ‘famous’ Aldous Snow hits like “Bangers, Beans and Mash,” “African Child,” and everyone’s favorite, “The Clap.”  Hey, nothing like an STD set to music to get the day going.

I know on this site there is going to be an inevitable comparison between any comedy and The Hangover.  So was Get Him to the Greek as funny?  That’s for you to find out, but while The Hangover is a much more clever film, Greek may have drawn more laughs out of me.  Even to the end of the film, writer Nicholas Stoller managed to squeeze out another quality line or two before the credits rolled.  As for the staying after the credits, you really don’t need to.  There is a little extra bit by P. Diddy, but it’s not worth sitting through the scrolling names to catch 4 more seconds of his smart-mouthed anger.  That very minor detail aside, Get Him to the Greek is without a doubt the must-see comedy of 2010.