Do you think if NBC programmers had foreseen what tremendous weight and talent would have come out of the short-lived Freaks and Geeks that they would have given it a better time slot and promoted it a little better? The Apatow empire began with F&G not so long ago and ever since Anchorman and The 40 Year Old Virgin it’s been chugging along pretty much non-stop. With Seth Rogen’s star status now secure it was Jason Segel’s turn to take centre stage, and he hits one out of the park his first time at bat with Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Segel plays Ben, a musician whose day job is the composition of the background music on the TV show “Crime Scene” starring the beautiful and talented Sarah Marshall (Kristin Bell), who he’s also dating. When Sarah breaks up with Ben in favour of British pop star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), it sends Ben into a shame spiral of one night stands with intermittent periods of crying his eyes out. In order to get out of his head, Ben heads to Hawaii. But no sooner does he arrive then he realizes he’s picked the exact same resort as his ex and her lover. Things look up for Ben though when he starts courting Rachel (Mila Kunis), the lovely girl who mans the front desk of the hotel.

There are two parts to Sarah Marshall and I think one is a little sharper than the other. On the one hand is all the relationship drama as Ben deals with Sarah and her “ridiculous” boyfriend while trying to find a way for himself to movie on. The other hand is the one where some of the prime comedy is: the Hollywood spoof stuff, with “Crime Scene” being a not so vague parody of the CSI franchise, complete with Billy Baldwin doing a spot on David Caruso a la CSI: Miami. (Incidentally, all the non-Alec Baldwin brothers are doing great work in the parody business. Remember Stephen Baldwin in Fred Claus?)

But back at the resort though, the comedy may not be as sharp but it is pretty good just the same. Even though we hit all the predictable beats like Sarah’s green eyes showing when Peter and Rachel get cozy, the film is nonetheless paced well to take advantage for maximum laughs. This is also a character driven comedy, which forces the script to dig in for human moments rather than relying on outlandish visual gags and scenarios.

The cast is magnificent and well up the task. Segel proves himself a likeable, though unconventional, lead in the same tradition as other Apatow heroes. Although his character’s early whining is grating and I wish Siegel had skewered the tone to his better angry/sarcastic voice. (“Oh, a wedding in Hawaii! Real original!”)

The film hits an interesting tone by not allowing the characters to slide into easy stereotypes. Bell’s Marshall isn’t that much of a cold-hearted snake and it is implied that Ben had as much to do with their break-up as Aldous. Speaking of which, Brand really nails the hedonistic, laissez-faire, British rocker routine, but he also infuses him with a touch of wisdom (at least until he says something unfortunate like, “I’m going to f**k the limo driver” after just a brief look at her). Kunis is also a great find, and I say find even though she’s highly recognizable from her roles as Jackie on That 70s Show and Meg on Family Guy. Of course, Jackie was a bitch and Meg is, well, Meg, so playing a sweet-natured, free spirit must have been a marvellous release for Kunis, who’s a natural as Peter’s new romantic interest.

Several Apatow regulars put in appearances in small roles. Paul Rudd plays a surfer dude who lobs such philosophical nuggets like, “When life gives you lemons say, ‘F**k it’ and bail!” It’s a good part for him since its something I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do before and he’s even done John Lennon (see: Walk Hard). Jonah Hill (Seth from Superbad), unfortunately, gets shafted playing an over the top Snow fan who persists with getting his idol a demo. (“I was going to listen to it, but I went on living my life,” Snow replies). Meanwhile, I found Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader seriously underutilized as Peter’s step-brother; though 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer(Kenny the Page) is excellent as a newly wed that seeks advice from Snow on bedroom performance.

With a comic cast this diverse and talented it’s no wonder that Forgetting Sarah Marshall remains so memorable after leaving the theatre. Kudos to Apatow and company for continually proving that schlubs can finish first and that musical puppet Dracula can be hysterical.