You get the impression that the writer of this movie about being dumped, Jason Segel who also stars, was drawing from his own personal experience. A quick Google search reveals that this is indeed the case.
I know how he feels; I too was once unceremoniously dumped by a blonde with whom I was madly in love. I too did not see it coming. She was not an actor like the Sarah Marshall (Kirsten Bell) of the title but good looking enough to be one. I also went to a beach resort to get over it. I went to Thailand, Jason Segel character (Peter) goes to Hawaii. It was not a good idea.
There was sun, blue seas, coral and white sand, and everybody was having a great time. I might as well have been in hell. Peter's situation is made worse by the fact that his ex is also there with her new boyfriend, egotistical, British rock star Aldous Snow ( Russell Brand )
Peter is a musician, he writes the incidental music on the hit show that Sarah acts in. However, his real dream is to put on a puppet show based on Dracula. When I was in the same predicament as Peter, I wrote a song about it. It wasn't very good and nor is this movie.
If I can identify so strongly with the main character why was I not a big fan of the movie? The main problem with it is that once it has set up the premise, it drifts around aimlessly for about 30 minutes. This is the sort of film where you know where it's heading. Peter will find solace in the arms of another woman. Sarah will realize her mistake, break up with Aldous and try to patch things up with Peter but it will be too late. It's just that it takes too long to get there and in the middle there are no jokes, not any funny jokes, no jokes at all.
When the film finally does get to its inevitable conclusion, it is quite satisfying; as it always is when things turn out the way they are supposed to. However, in the end, it really says something about a movie when the show within the show (i.e. the puppet show) seems more interesting than the actual film. Apparently, Jason Segel's next project is the new Muppet movie. Let's hope that that will be better.
