I am a self admitted lover of Freaks and Geeks. I like to watch my dvds on Sunday afternoons or any rainy day and relive all the great moments and hilarious lines. [Thanks to Jessica for getting me so involved in both F&Gs and My So Called Life.] That being said, I have loved Jason Segal for a long time. I wanted Lindsay and Nick to end up together so bad. I loved when he played the drums for her for like 2 hours and when he showed up at her house and took a bunch of Fruit Roll Ups with him. I loved that he liked her so much and wanted to be right for her, even though he was stoned most of the time. That being said, of course I will have a big soft spot for a movie that Jason Segal wrote and starred in.

 

We’ve all sent the trailers and mass promotion for FSM. Peter’s hot girlfriend dumps him, he is beside himself with grief, he decides to take a vacation to Hawaii, he runs into her and her new rock star boyfriend and he meets the front desk clerk, Rachel, (Mila Kunis, who got really good looking since “That 70s Show”) who tries to help him get over it and get on with his life. Let me just say, in order to prepare you, there is nudity. We all see the trailer where she dumps in and he drops his towel on the floor. Well there you have it. Camera pans down. I was not aware of this (and it’s not all that brief) and felt a tad bit uncomfortable sitting next to my innocent 19 year old cousin watching that. That being said, however, it is hilarious. Jason Segal completely has down the awkward moment stuff which makes him great to watch. You feel bad for him (come on! his hot girlfriend of like 3 years is breaking up with him!) but you still want him to cover up. He is like a sad little puppy that’s peeing on your floor. You don’t want him to do it, but you kind of feel bad scolding him for it. The movie is full of awkwardness between him and his ex (Kristin Bell) and her wildly inappropriate new boyfriend (Russell Brand) as they sit together at dinner in Hawaii, see each other at brunch, and end up in adjacent hotel rooms. Rachel works at the front desk and takes a shine to Peter and tries to help him get over Sarah by taking him out for beer and letting him just be himself, so much of what he’s ended up stifling to keep Sarah around. There are really funny parts, including some ever witty dialogue delivered by Jonah Hill and the cute Paul Rudd as well as Peter’s friendship with his married stepbrother. Peter is not only on a road to recovery, but to self discovery. After three years, how much of himself has he lost in staying with Sarah? And how is he going to get it back?

 

I watched an interview on MTV.com with Jason Segal talking about specific parts of the movie and he tells the interviewer he really did get dumped naked and he knew he had to put it in a movie. He also said he took her flowers and said the words to some utterly cheesy song to her trying to win her back. She didn’t take him back, but she kept the flowers. That interview made me like him even more because I think it takes a great person to put the really crap times in their life into a movie or a book for the entire world to see. Maybe that’s just maturing enough to move on and laugh about it. Additionally, he said the best part of the movie (in my mind) came from a real life experience: Dracula puppets. Peter tells Rachel he works composing for a TV show, but really wishes he could finish his Dracula puppet opera. She urges him to sing part of it on stage at this bar which leads to the looks of both horror and laughter. [He meant for it to be serious, but do you really take that seriously?] I won’t spoil the ending of the movie for you, but Dracula puppets are an excellent idea and hearing Jason Segal sing the part of Dracula just made me smile.

 

So to find out whether or not Peter can really get over Sarah Marshall and if he can get back to living his life again – on his own terms – you should check out the movie. Just beware of who you watch it with if you may feel uncomfortable watching sex/nude/explicit things with anyone.

 

[Bonus: I saw it in the theater and got to see the first full length trailer for “The Pineapple Express” with James Franco and Seth Rogen. I am way excited because it just reminds me of the good ol’ days when Seth’s character dated a hermaphrodite and Daniel was having a perfect love-hate relationship with Kim Kelley. Oh, I wish I would’ve been a Freak.]

 

Rating: Four “I hate you, Sarah Marshall “billboards.