Get Him to the Greek Review: Greek is no Green Ogre at the B.O., But the Bromance Will Do

“So there’s a layer of respect, but under that, hate.” —My thoughts exactly, Russell Brand!

According to the production notes, the folks who brought you Forgetting Sarah Marshall didn’t set out to do anything more than make a funny movie with two funny actors—who also happened to be central characters in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. There will be the occasional jab at storylines from Get Him to the Greek’s predecessor, but don’t call it a sequel!

This character-led flick begins with the nadir of Aldous Snow’s rock star career in Viacom pop-documentary fashion. Aldous (Russell Brand) is shooting his latest single, “African Child,” a music video so magnificently terrible, it trumps apartheid, famine and imperialism as the worst thing to happen to the African continent since…apartheid, famine and imperialism.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch—that looks a lot like a Diddy-helmed recording outfit—no! It’s not another season of “Making the Band!” It’s doppelganger!

Sergio Roma, played by Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, is bidding his peons to find a music industry game changer (preferably, the misogynistic kind)—not because he has six dependents and viable reasons to pad his own pockets (imaginary chin stroke and raised eyebrow goes here)—but he does want to save the integrity of the industry for his lowly gofers. When he calls on 24 year old Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), Aaron comes through with the brilliant idea to bring Aldous Snow out of has-been obscurity into relevance with a 10-year anniversary concert celebration of his live recording at The Greek Theatre.

Here’s where the mayhem and Bromancing begin.

In short order, Aaron unintentionally breaks up with his intern doctor girlfriend, Daphne Binks (Elisabeth Moss), and makes the journey to the U.K. to begin the overrated and far from uneventful life in the shadow of a rock star.

Cue all the proper fodder for the rock star trope.

There are the overly agreeable and mindless entourage members, the sex-ready groupies, the wells of distilled intoxicants, and the endless trails of not-so-playground-recreational pharmaceuticals all at the pair’s fingertips, causing Aaron to, expectedly, worsen his breakup in the process.

The most interesting aspects of this film, though, have to be the recurring theme of man’s last stand, and the feeling that this is really a Father’s Day flick. There’s an explicit conversation about the fear of castration: “You make me feel like a ‘50s housewife!” Aaron will tell his beloved Daphne. More than once, Snow is confronted with his station as an absent father and son of the same. Snow owes much of his treacherous addictions to daddy issues and the love he lost in free-loving baby mama, Jackie Q (Rose Byrne)—but no worries.

The heavy points of the film are all lightened by the best pukes, rookie-needs-a-“Pulp Fiction” needle, and sodomizing moments you can imagine. Yeah…and don’t be surprised that Aaron is repeatedly made the butt of such jokes. (Oh snap: a pun.)

Is ‘Greek’ a game changer?

Hardly.

But it is worth a few man-crush-tastic laughs.

Photo by Photo Credit: Glen Wilson – © Copyright:2010 Universal Pictures.