As Jonah Hill and Russell Brand's "Get Him to the Greek" arrives in theaters Friday (June 4), you may find yourself wondering whether this comical adventure filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll is right for you. You could always consult our big-screen cheat sheet before forming an opinion, or you could check out what film critics across the Web have to say about the new release. So far, the verdict seems overwhelmingly positive, with many reviewers describing "Greek" as the best comedy of 2010.
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" 'Get Him to the Greek' is the funniest film of 2010 by a long-shot," writes Rebecca Murray of About.com. "Delivering the most fun I've had in a theater this year, this R-rated raunchy, wacky spin-off from 2008's 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is loaded with jokes that connect, it's fast-paced, and even has a bit of heart to it (it is a Judd Apatow production, after all)."
Roger Ebert agrees with Murray's assessment of the film's heart, stating: "There are really two movies here. One is a gross-out comedy that grows lyrical in its exuberant offensive language, its drug excesses, its partying, its animal behavior. The other movie, which comes into focus, so to speak, in the last half, is surprisingly sweet, and shows that [Brand and Hill's characters] arrive at a friendship that has been tempered in the forge of their misbehavior."
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A.O. Scott of The New York Times praises the film's leading men, particularly Brand's turn as drug-addled rock star Aldous Snow. "He is not as complex or as sad a figure as George Simmons, the comedian-turned-movie star played by Adam Sandler last summer in Mr. Apatow's 'Funny People,' " Scott writes. "But like that movie, albeit in a more condensed, audience-pleasing form, 'Get Him to the Greek' acknowledges the dark shadows and bleak stretches in the brightly lighted landscape of celebrity and also the resentment that can fester within a fan's love of his idol."
Not everyone is enamored with "Greek," however. Aaron Leitko of The Washington Post finds fault with the film's premise as a spin-off of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the 2008 comedy where Brand's Snow first appeared. He writes: "TV spin-offs have a spotty record. 'Rhoda' couldn't carry the torch for 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show.' 'Joey' was a pale substitute for 'Friends.' It's rare that a previously established side character, no matter how well loved, can deliver the goods in his own show. Which is probably why nobody tries it with movies. Well, nobody but the makers of 'Get Him to the Greek.' "
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Claudia Pulg with USA Today was similarly unimpressed, suggesting that the film's problems are "a lot like Aldous himself: whacked-out, occasionally clever but in need of impulse control and direction."
While Massawyrm at Ain't It Cool News personally loved "Get Him to the Greek," he identified certain types of moviegoers that probably won't enjoy the film. "If you love what [Hill and Brand] do, this will be a full-frontal assault on your gut; if not, I can honestly say that they don't stray far enough from their own safety zones to do anything that might win you over," he writes. "If you are one of those folks that can't stand one or the other of the pair, this movie is not for you. It's pretty much them doing their thing for nearly two hours, interrupted occasionally by plot and emotion. Which, of course, is exactly why I love the living sh-- out of it."
