Rating: 3/5 Verdict: Russell Brand steals the show, and saves the day
Comedian Russell Brand reprises his scene-stealing character, rock star Aldous Snow, from comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall in this raucous, crude, and at times hilarious satire of the music industry.
With his carefully constructed rock star looks and swagger and reported love of a party, it's fitting Brand's first lead rolepersonifies the term "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll". It's hard to imagine him doing anything else. And not only does he nail the character, but he provides most of the laughs and keeps what is at times a sluggish story ticking along nicely.
The set-up is simple: Snow's last album African Child, inspired by watching children on television from a war-torn African country he can't remember the name of, has completely bombed. With his career in free fall he agrees to a comeback concert at LA's famous Greek Theatre. The concert is the idea of young, idealistic music company intern Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), who is given the responsibility of getting Snow from London to LA in time for the concert.
Megalomaniacal record company boss Sergio Roma (Sean "P. Diddy" Combs) gives Aaron some upfront advice, warning him "the artist is the worst person on Earth. Turn your back on him at your own peril".
And so it proves: separated from his ditsy pop star wife Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) and off the wagon, Snow is in no hurry to get to LA. Aaron is left with no choice but to grovel, suffer numerous humiliations, and ultimately share in Snow's hedonistic hobbies to get him to the theatre on time.
Once the premise is set, not much happens between London and LA. There is an appearance on a telly show and excessive drinking and drug taking culminating in a hilarious scene in a Las Vegas hotel suite where Snow reconnects with his estranged father.
Once the story hits LA it really starts to drag, and as the male bonding continues you wonder if director Nicholas Stoller (who worked with the pair on Forgetting Sarah Marshall) just doesn't want or know how to bring the party to a close.
Get Him to the Greek is very much a satire, taking the mickey out of the music industry in general, and in particular poking fun at the socially conscious rock star. Plenty of actual artists make an appearance, including Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lars Ulrich, and it seems everyone is enjoying the joke.
Produced by Judd Apatow, Get Him to the Greek has a similar mix of cringe-worthy and laugh-out-loud comedy you normally find in one of his productions. But it's a bit too silly and the characters are too idiotic to care about in quite the same way as we did with Knocked Up, or The 40 Year Old Virgin.
Cast: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Running time: 109 mins
Rating: R16 (contains drug use, sex scenes and offensive language)
