Life on the Fourth Floor


	<a href="http://guide.comicgenesis.com/newshack.php">Newsbox</a>

Jason Segel Will Save Us All

Posted 06:41 (GMT) 20th May 2008

If you haven't yet seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall you most certainly should. I raved about Knocked Up last summer and was cautiously optimistic when I heard about a new film starring and written by Jason "Marshall-from-the-one-of-the-funniest-sitcoms-ever-How-I-Met-Your-Mother" Segel. I should have been ecstatic considering how good it sounds on paper but the trailer only hinted at something which may well be good but could just as easily disappoint, which is to say none of the biggest laughs from the film are in the trailer. Thinking back, that's actually a good thing since there's nothing most trailers love more these days than ruining all of a film's biggest surprises. I'm reminded of the trailer for Shrek 2 which revealed the whole "Pray for mercy rom Puss in Boots" scene in its entirety, not to mention its omnipresence in TV spots - it got to the point that when I actually saw the film the kids behind me spent the entire scene reciting the lines as they occurred, as well they might since it's a very funny scene when you re-watch the film on DVD years later - but whenever you see a film for the first time at the cinema it's always infected by your memories of the trailer. Forgetting Sarah Marshall's trailer wasn't exactly misleading (not like the awful trailer for My Big Fat Greek Wedding - witty, subtle tale of emotional growth and family tradition equals falling down?) but it neatly avoids all of those pitfalls, giving away just enough to whet the appetite but spoiling nothing. And I won't spoil anything either - just see the film before everyone starts talking about the hilarious thing with the stuff that made them laugh out loud.

I will say that Jason Segel is a very talented and relatable actor and an excellent writer both of screenplays and songs. In fact, I think he just might be my new hero. What I'm trying to say, really, is that I was surprised by Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I was surprised by how funny it was, I was surprised because none of the surprises are spoiled in the promotional material and I was surprised because what could have easily been a by-the-numbers romantic comedy (not that there's anything wrong with that) turned out to be a startlingly original and unpredictable film. And that puts it right up there with my all-time favourite When Harry Met Sally.

I suppose what's interesting about films like Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the way they explore changing ideas of masculinity in the 21st century. These films aren't about losing your virginity to a pie or lighting your beer farts, these films are about confronting parenthood and crying over your ex-girlfriend - essentially stories of men tackling responsibility and emotions head-on and all the interesting comic scenarios that are thrown up by that, rather than the hollow and unrealistic story of some guy running from responsibility or his feelings until he finally learns not to, as if that's the biggest step any man's going to take in his life. It's when you confront your feelings that things get interesting, it should be the catalyst for a plot rather than the ending. These are very funny films - films that real people can relate to - about achieving maturity in a post-feminist society and their critical reception and financial success shows that cinema and audiences are maturing too. What an exciting time to be alive.

Unauthorized use of any Life on the Fourth Floor materials including characters, images and texts is strictly prohibited.

Life on the Fourth Floor is hosted on Comic Genesis, a free webhosting and site automation service for webcomics. They specialise in annoying advertisements.