‘Get Him to the Greek’ Resembles a Drunken Bender
Building on the fame the character established in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) returns for an adventure of his own in the comedy Get Him to the Greek. The director of Sarah Marshall Nicholas Stoller, comes back as well, to write and helm this quasi-sequel.
Get Him to the Greek concentrates on Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), a record company intern under the supervision of executive Sergio Roma (P. Diddy). In this world, the rock star Aldous Snow has been living in relative obscurity since an unsuccessful album, a divorce from his wife, and a relapse into drug use put him in an emotional rut. Sagging profits in the record industry leads Sergio to back Aaron’s idea to stage a 10 year reunion concert for Snow’s performance at LA’s famous Greek Theater.
Sergio assigns Aaron to pick up Aldous Snow in London, and escort him to the Greek Theater for his performance which is in 72 hours. Since he is a huge fan of Aldous, Aaron is ecstatic about meeting his idol. However the naïve intern is unable to fathom the mess he has gotten into taking care of Snow. Aaron tries to be firm and stay on task, but he quickly gives in to the party lifestyle, which puts his mission in serious jeopardy.
Russell Brand is charming in the role of Aldous Snow; he’s an egotistical rock star, who you can’t help but love despite his selfish qualities. Even when he messes up, it’s hard to stay mad at him. Jonah Hill’s Aaron is a good foil for Snow, because he’s awkward and ineffective at handling the musician. Their conflicting personalities allow them to learn a great deal from one another and to form a bond of friendship. The surprise scene stealer though is Sergio, a character who seems more insane than any of the rock stars in the film. Diddy yells, spouts obscenities, and survives bodily injury to accomplish his goals.
Most of the film’s humor is based in the awkward interactions between Hill’s Aaron and Brand’s Aldous, with typical lowbrow gross-out laughs. The pacing of the movie, blurs all of the partying and wild times together so that they resemble a drunken bender for Aaron. This formula just seems to fit very well because as the viewer you feel like you’ve traveled along with these characters, surviving outlandish adventures to make the show. Get Him to the Greek is a feel-good movie with outrageous moments, that is fun to watch even if it does not have much to say on an intellectual level.