Get Him to the Greek

Stars: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Sean Combs, Rose Byrne, Elisabeth Moss, Colm Meaney

Director: Nicholas Stoller

On the evidence of this, Brand could have a future as a rock singer, if not yet as a movie star. The songs here are catchy and foot-tapping, but the film itself is only catching like a disease. It takes a good idea and blows it in a welter of swearing, drugs, deviant sex, vomiting (lots of this) and, yes, violence: all 15 certificate product placements are here.

And yet, with just a little restraint here and there, something much richer could have been achieved, as the very occasional quieter moments suggest.

Aaron Green (Hill) is assigned to get wayward English rocker Aldous Snow (Brand) to a concert at LA's Greek theatre in a comeback show, following a career nosedive after a sensationally misjudged number set in Africa,

Along the much-delayed way, Aldous takes Aaron through all the aforementioned 15 certificate items, noisily and at length.

Brand repeats his role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and it's hard to see where his movie career goes from here; maybe just being Russell Brand will be enough for a while. Hill does his best on a fairly modest talent but, apart from a few well-scattered smiles, the film is spectacularly unfunny, while glorying in the worst possible taste, Brand fans should accept the package without too much fuss: others beware.

David Quinlan

USA 2010. UK Distributor: Universal. Colour.
109 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 2, Swearing 3.

Review date: 21 Jun 2010