Diddy steals show in 'Get Him to the Greek'
Jonah Hill, left, and Russell Brand in a scene from "Get Him to the Greek." Credit: Universal Pictures
Sometimes, stolen scenes are sweeter. In 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Russell Brand swiped so many laughs as the preposterous rocker Aldous Snow that he has become the star of a spinoff movie, "Get Him to the Greek." Now, Brand's scenes are rightfully his, but he's not having nearly as much fun.
The buzz killer is Nicholas Stoller, who directed both movies and wrote this one. The premise - in which the drug-addled Snow journeys toward Los Angeles to play a comeback concert at the Greek Theatre - feels skimpy even by Hollywood's cocktail-napkin standards. As for the script, it could fit on a second napkin.
Jonah Hill, who in the first film played an excitable fan of Snow's band, Infant Sorrow, reappears here in altered form. Now, he's Aaron Green, an excitable underling at Pinnacle M&A Records. His assignment: Do whatever he must to get the erratic Snow to the concert.
The movie has its moments but it's mostly a jumble of half-notions. Is Aaron an uptight square or just a normal guy? Is his girlfriend, Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), supposed to be so irritating? Is Snow angry at his loutish father (Colm Meaney), or are they palsy-walsy? Stoller can't decide, so everyone just improvises until the ideas burn out. Then, they keep filming.
The only bright spot is Sean "Diddy" Combs, playing a tyrannical label boss who falls somewhere between Tom Cruise's unhinged movie mogul in "Tropic Thunder" and, well, Sean "Diddy" Combs. His best lines are unprintable, but in this movie he's the one stealing scenes. Now, Brand knows how it feels.
Russell Brand strikes chord as rock star
British comedian Russell Brand stole the girl as well as all of his scenes in the 2008 hit comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." The irreverent comedian reprises the unforgettable rock star Aldous Snow in "Get Him to the Greek."
Playing a rock star didn't require a lot of research for Brand. "I hang around with some rock stars because they're my friends," says Brand, 35.
"Noel Gallagher, he's one," Brand says, intentionally sounding boastful. "Pete Doherty, I've hung out with him a bit, and Winehouse, she's my mate, but she's more blues than rock." He leaves out his fiancée, American singer-songwriter Katy Perry.
Gallagher, the former Oasis guitarist, gave Brand the most insight into how to act like a rock star. One key move was learning how to fake what he calls "inherent nonchalance." "He told me, 'Anywhere I go, as long as I have my guitar, people will pay 10 quid to come and see me,' " he says. "He's got this gift; whereas, if you're a comedian, you tend to be more neurotic about stuff like that."
- Entertainment News Wire
