Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

I laughed a scant handful of times because it was just too low-key with most of the jokes being stepped on. I think it could've been great with a bit a shaping -- its current form feels disjointed and though some scenes just got shoved in willy-nilly because they couldn't bear to cut them.

I've been trying to nail down exactly why this movie didn't work for me...it's an odd one because my complaints about it seem to contradict what I think I want from a comedy. Usually I'm irritated when all of the funny is spotlighted, time allowed for laughter, with lots of mugging and double-takes to let the audience know it's "time to laugh!" like a broad sitcom. I desire subtlety. I mean, I love it when I'm trusted enough to laugh even when the equivalent of "do you get it??" isn't coming across the screen.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall certainly doesn't shove any jokes in faces -- so why didn't I appreciate it more? I've come to this conclusion: a comedy is like a beautiful girl. When she's well-groomed and wearing the right clothes, there's no need for a spotlight and a theme song to accompany her in order to get appreciative heads to turn in her direction. If, however, she's in need of some plucking and her dress is a couple of sizes too big, she's easily ignored without someone pointing and saying "Look at her. She's gorgeous. Don't you agree?" FSM is the "before" in a high school makeover movie. It needed someone to point out the jokes because it wasn't edited well enough for me to see them on my own.

C+