Sex, drugs, but not much rock ‘n’ roll

It has been a couple of years since we’ve had a hilarious yet smart film from the perverted, immature mind of producer Judd Apatow. Last year’s Funny People was anything but funny and Year One left a lot to be desired.

Don’t you worry though—the wait for penis jokes, innuendo in every line of dialogue and the awkward acting of Jonah Hill is over. Get Him to the Greek, Apatow’s latest—somewhat of a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall—is a giant step in the right cinematic direction.

In the opening sequence of Get Him to the Greek, we are introduced to rocker Aldous Snow through a series of news clips. Tried and true Apatow fans will recognize Russel Brand’s character from the celebrity that Sarah Marshall left Jason Segel’s character for in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Turns out that Snow has been having some career problems since those sunny days on the beach.

After releasing the racist album African Child, Aldous’ career crashed and burned. Although, let’s be honest, his songs about getting the clap and in-your-face lyrics about sexual intercourse didn’t really make for good music—which makes it even funnier when everyone loves it.

Meanwhile, Aaron Green, played by Jonah Hill, is struggling to succeed in his job. Working for a music production company headed by Sergio Roma (P. Diddy) isn’t easy, and home life isn’t much better. His long-time girlfriend, Daphne (Elizabeth Moss), is an on-call nurse at the hospital and is rarely home.

Things change for Aaron when Sergio holds a meeting asking for ideas to bring in some cash flow to the company. Aaron suggests that they bring Aldous Snow in for an anniversary concert. He’s berated on the spot, and Sergio tells him that they need something fresh (he then procedes to turn on some obscenity-laced gangster rap, proving that he’s a monumental idiot).

Sergio comes around after a few days and sends Aaron on a mission to pick up Aldous in London, bring him to New York for a media blast and then head to Los Angeles for the concert. He has 72 hours.

What follows is a drug and alcohol-filled trip that one would expect from an Apatow film. Aaron ends up having sex with several women (never enjoying it), throwing up on himself more than once and attempting to develop a friendship with his rock star idol. Aaron does end up getting Aldous to the concert, but it is not without trouble—trouble that includes sticking a ball of heroin up his rear end to get on a plane, which is more painful to watch than it is funny.

While Jonah Hill is well cast for Aaron, only going out of character once or twice, Russell Brand is the star of this film. He’s raunchy, disgusting, sleazy and yet incredibly sexy at the same time. Even when he’s a monumental douche bag, the audience will still want him.

Most of the other actors perform well too, that is, except for P. Diddy. Sure, he plays the crazy music producer to a T, but sometimes it’s a bit much. While his lines are funny and he is able to pull it off, it was pretty clear that P. Diddy was playing himself. Though he looks the part, I would have rather seen someone else in the role—perhaps a real actor.

Even the miscasting of P. Diddy can’t bring this movie down, though. Get Him to the Greek is funny, inappropriate and one of Apatow’s better films. It’s certainly no Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Knocked Up, but it’s on the right track.