"Get Him to the Greek" has all the earmarks of a Judd Apatow spin-off. Which is a good thing.
Jason Segel ("Knocked Up") created the characters for co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall"). The result is an Apatow-produced cinematic cake that expands into bizarre comic proportions.
Russell Brand reprises his "Sarah Marshall" incarnation as Aldous Snow, a Lord Byron-styled rock 'n' roll star past his prime. Brand's portrayal is a thing of comic genius played opposite Johan Hill, as record company intern Aaron Green.
Ostensibly a road movie (as the title predicts) the story finds Aaron assigned by his Capitol Records boss Sergio (Sean Combs) to escort the drug-addled Aldous from London to New York and on to L.A. in time for a greatest-hits concert at the famous Greek Theater. After breaking up with his physician girlfriend Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), Aaron turns into a human repository for drugs and drinks when he isn't being waylaid into awkward sexual encounters during the three-day journey.
While not as dramatically developed as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," there are more than enough guffaw-inducing moments of queasy hilarity to relish.
Rated R. 109 mins.
