> Get Him to the Greek
4 stars (out of 5)
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Cast: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney, Elisabeth Moss, Sean P Diddy Combs, Carla Gallo, Lars Ulrich, Tom Felton
Rating: (R16)
The character Aldous Snow first appeared in modest little romance Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
The British rock star/sex god lingered in the memory, as preposterous but real characters do, so it made sense to base a movie on him.
Get Him to the Greek (Rialto and Hoyts) starts with Aldous (Russell Brand) releasing a pompous single called African Child. It bombs, causing a meltdown in his relationship with pop tart Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) and a spectacular return to mind-altering substances.
Record executive Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) seems too nice a guy to be a record-company shark but he has worked out that doing a 10th anniversary tribute to Aldous' best-selling live album will net the company heaps.
His boss Sergio Roma (Sean "P Diddy" Combs) is not keen but the easy money is tempting. All Aaron has to do is collect Aldous and babysit him for three days until the concert starts. You just know it will quickly derail to earn that R16 rating.
Brand had a wild previous life as an addict and they have used this to give a strong sense of the glamour and ultimate futility of drug use.
A very funny movie, this also gives an insider's eye into being a celebrity and it is not pretty.
Best thing: Brand's Aldous is funny but P Diddy is surprisingly strong competition.
Worst thing: They lacked the courage to take this all the way. 0Brand has created a comedic monster and pulling back to reinvent him as just a cheeky chappie seems a little meek.
See it with: Anyone who thinks "contains sexual and drug references" is a recommendation, not a warning.
- Christine Powley
