Movie Review: GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Until recently, I didn't realize that "Get Him to the Greek" was a spinoff of the comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which was released a couple of years ago. Had I known this, I would have been looking forward to GHTTG for a lot longer. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was a sweet, raunchy, laugh-a-minute comedy that I really enjoyed - not loved mind you - but found very entertaining. GHTTG comes close to the same overall quality of it's predecessor, but falls a little short in the laughs department.

So was it funny? Yes. Was it hilarious? No. Telling the story of a failing record company trying to get back on top, a lowly assistant named Aaron (played by Superbad's Jonah Hill) comes up with the idea to give his favorite rock star Aldous Snow (an excellent Russell Brand) a reunion concert to help him regain his old glories. Getting Snow from Britian to the Greek theater in LA is easier said than done, and we follow the exploits, sexploits and otherwise in the attempt.

The movie's first half an hour is great. The movie's last fifteen minutes are great. In between, it's just okay. The makers spend way too much time trying to make the character of Aldous Snow seem like the "typical rock star", and we get that after the first ten minutes.

Another major problem I had with this movie is how the ads for it contains scenes or parts of scenes that aren't even in the movie. If you've seen the ad, the following scenes or parts are absent:

1. There's no scene where Aldous Snow asks Aaron to go for a jog.
2. There is no scene where P-Diddy gives Aaron the adrenaline and he responds with "Like in Pulp Fiction?" The injection scene IS in the movie, but the set up isn't.
3. There is no scene where other assistants talk about their ideas like the "Mexican Jonas Brothers" or "Flush Tones"
4. There is no scene where Aldous Snow is in a motorized car and says "I'm a motorist!"
5. There is no scene where Aldous Snow is dressed up as the Pope on the beach.
6. There is no scene where the two leads are "exercising" in Central Park.
7. There is no scene where Aaron is on a little league field.
8. There is no scene where Aldous Snow goes base-jumping.

I can assure you I didn't fall asleep, so don't you agree that if you put that much stuff in the trailer and it doesn't make it into the movie we've got a problem? I sure think so. I understand editing, but seriously, if you're making an ad to make it seem appealing to viewers, and cut all of those scenes out, that's nothing short of deceptive marketing.

So taking everything into account, I would give "Get Him to the Greek" a 6.5 rating out of 10, giving it half a star penalty for lying to me. I take those things personally - but the movie still was an enjoyable diversion.