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The raunchy stoner comedy has evolved since the days of Cheech and Chong Back in the 1970’s, these low budget flicks made some serious cash then fell out of grace with the demise of some of their biggest stars. The real life of the downside of drugs impacted the fictional aspects of the cinema world. But, everyone knows that if you wait around long enough, everything that has fallen out of vogue will eventually come back in retro chic. In the last few years, these kinds of comedies, loud and raucous, have been roaring back. The Hangover and Superbad are but two recent examples of these works. Judd Apatow is the filmmaker who has been leading this charge. The newest entry in the sex, drugs and rock & roll bandwagon is Get Him to The Greek.
The story is of Aaron Greenberg (Jonah Hill). He is a very low-level flunky at a major music firm. When the boss (Sean Combs) wants a new, million dollar idea, Arron suggests that they put on a repeat concert for Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a bad boy rock star who is a bit down on his luck. His last concept LP called “African Child” was a tremendous flop and he is now known more for his exploits than his music. At one time he was with pop sensation Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) a diva who is as well known for her rock royalty bed she keeps as her music. Now Aldous is all alone, with nothing but ‘Yes’ men in his life. He misses family life and his young son.
Aaron has a seemingly simple job—take Aldous Snow from England to America. They have to stop by The Today Show before coming to LA and the concert at the famed Greek Theatre, the spot of Aldous Snow’s greatest success as an artist. Aaron is a star-struck fan who dreams of being a producer. He has a girlfriend med student who doesn’t have time for their relationship, only wanting to sleep and work. It is as if their romance is also at a crossroads, with her wanting to leave LA for Seattle.
The entire story is of Aaron and Aldous bonding and becoming friends as they journey to the City of the Angels. Along the way they stop in Las Vegas so Aldous can see his musician father Jonathan. The biggest and funniest moments happen at a The Hangover style party at the Las Vegas suite. It is just the kind of wild melee one would expect from a groupie obsessed rock star, filled with drugs and sex. We find out what a mythical ‘Jeffery’ entails. Watching our two leads battle over who can party the most is the major highlight of the flick.
It is impossible to give away the plot, because there truly is no plot. While not even a molecule of solid story, the idea behind Get Him to the Greek is more of a character study. It examines how two different individuals find some common ground . When we first meet Aldous, it is through interviews where he thinks of himself as an African white space Christ. He is so full of himself that he has nowhere to go but down. He sees everything he does more as a lifestyle choice than an addictive personality.
Aaron is also at an emotional focal point. His girlfriend and her career overpowers and emasculates the young man. He sees the brass ring, wanting to be on the inside of the rock show and Snow is the magic ticket. He does everything that the boss tells him to do, from partying all night in London to hiding drugs for his hero. The journey of Aaron is of self-discovery, him finding out what kind of a man he can be while giving in to bad boy passions. We see Aaron throwing up, time and time again, with almost Monty Python relish.
Both the story and the direction are messy, without a solid cohesion of plot. Though, the messiness is a part of the build-in charm. The film never finds an anchor and drifts in the breaking waves of disastrous behavior. Every once and awhile, the screenplay tries to give our two anti-heroes some kind of third dimension of personality, to broaden their emotional world. Those moments drag the comedy to a standstill. There are also some moments of confrontation that are uncomfortable, taking the story to a very uneven tilt.
Jonah Hill turns in another strong comedic performance, making the most of some weak material. His sad sack persona does him wonders here, playing hard with the darker aspects of his stock character. Russell Brand has been making waves over here for years, bringing his bad boy comic shtick to both the small and big screen. Here he plays a lost soul, without any thing to grab onto. One understands his affliction for drugs, they are the only thing that hasn’t let him down. His is a sad world and Brand finds that darkness. But the biggest discovery is Sean Combs as the boss. He just nails each and every comic line, giving us the lion share of belly laughs. This is a scene stealing performance and will give this performer a solid lift to the next level
Get Him to The Greek is in no way, shape or form a good movie. It has little structure and even less character development. On the other side, it has some screamingly funny moments. It is raw and rude, with loads of sex and drugs, behavior that would get someone arrested in this century. It will bring in the kids to the theater in droves, just as these flicks did decades ago.
