Rating: 8/10
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
Pinnacle Records needs a star, and the big boss of Pinnacle Records, Sergio Roma (Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs), has put Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) in charge of that starAldous Snow (Russell Brand). Snows not having the best year, having been dumped by his girlfriend of seven years (Rose Byrne) and having released a record deemed the worst thing to happen to Africa since Apartheid, and has thusly fallen off his sober wagon and proceeded to be trampled by the horses pulling that wagon. Its up to Aaron to get his drunk, high charge to his sold-out comeback concert while trying to avoid as many rock star temptations as he can.
With last years comedy success story The Hangover, it seemed about time for another raunchy drinking and drugs-fueled romp, which is indeed sort of what Get Him to the Greek is. Where The Hangover was pretty much non-stop antics, however, Greek is a little moredare I say this in a movie with Russell Brandsubtle. Not subtle in its shenanigans, its sex, its raunch, or its completely over-the-top rock star living, but theres a subtle, clever humor, almost sly, thats the work of both Hill and Brand, both experts at sneaking the funniest lines in almost as if they were all improvised on the spot. Combs is also ridiculously funny, offering some of the films best lines and delivering them like hes been a comedian all his life.
Greek is also subtle in the way that, even with its crazy antics, it maintains a balance of almost seriousness. Its funny to watch the junkie and the flustered record company guy butt heads, but when Snow explains to Aaron that while he has so many things to worry about, Snow, as a drug addict, is only worried about drugs, its almost poignant in its truth. Nicholas Stoller attempted this fine line back in Aldous Snows birthing ground, 2008s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but even though that one had some funny moments, this film does it much better, and theres an edgy quality to not only the humor, but to the reality of some of the situations, that it feels more natural. On the other end of the spectrum of why its good, Brand is a fairly decent singer, and with the exception of the reviled African Child, Snows songs arent bad. Its hard to tell, really where Brand ends and Snow begins, and Im not sure it matters, except that perhaps thats why this is better than most of the indulgence in dirtiness is hilarious genre of late.
It's Got: Funny Diddy (and others), Surprising heart, Decent soundtrack
It Needs: Better trailers, More Diddy, Lots of Extras when the DVD comes out
Summary
Better than The Hangover, Get Him to the Greek is funny and raunchy, owing much of its charm to the perfectly cast Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, and Sean P. Diddy Combs.