The Martini Shot

 Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language, and some graphic nudity

Running Time: 112 Minutes

Release Date: April 18, 2008 (wide)

Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd

Directed by: Nicholas Stoller

Judd Apatow does it again. He produces another comedy that shocks you into laughter with uncomfortable moments. I wasn’t as fond of this one as I was of Knocked Up and Superbad, but in my opinion, it was leaps and bounds better than The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

This story follows musician Peter Bretter as he tries to get over being dumped by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall. His attempt to get away from it all leads him to a resort in Hawaii, where he tragically runs into Sarah and her new British rock star boyfriend, Aldous. He is eventually coaxed out of his misery with the help of some of the resort employees, led by Mila Kunis’ Rachel, whose carefree approach to life he finds refreshing.

Jason Segel is not only the leading man, but he wrote the hilarious script. As Peter Bretter, Segel is endearingly awkward. His exaggerated portrayal of heartbroken misery at once captures the essence of heartache and the ridiculousness of self pity. The reason Peter is still likable and Segel’s performance is funny is because underneath all the site gags and funny one-liners the filmmakers keep that little kernel of truth that reminds all of us of how we felt the last time our heart was broken.

That being said up front, let’s move on to these site gags and how they can kind of get out of control when filmmakers are distracted by trying to irritate the MPAA. That was the feeling I was getting when they repeatedly cut to one particular site gag not once or twice, but several times. By the end of that scene, all I could think about was the filmmakers repeatedly submitting their cuts to the MPAA until the right number of seconds and the right number of occurrences was met to squeak by with the R rating. Funny as it was, in my opinion, it was a little overdone.

I now have to mention that Mila Kunis is pretty. We all know this without being barraged with close-ups of her flashing her perfect white teeth while her eyelight twinkles and the breeze moves through her dark wavy hair. While this is nice for awhile, please give her more to do.

Overall, it was incredibly entertaining to watch. The laughs kept coming throughout and Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill have terrific supporting parts.

Rating: 8/10 - an entertaining laugh fest with only a few distracting elements