Four out of Five stars
Running time: 109 mins

Highly amusing follow-up to Forgetting Sarah Marshall that focuses on the larger than life rock god Aldous Snow and confirms Russell Brand as a genuine Hollywood star.

What’s it all about?
Washed up rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) has seen his career on the slide since the catastrophic failure of his controversial album African Child. His girlfriend Jackie Q (Rose Byrne) has left him and he’s returned to his out of control antics, which include sleeping with anything that walks and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. His demise seems to mirror that of the music industry in general, however, and record industry mogul Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) demands things change for the better.

Enter eager music fan and Sergio lackey Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), who’s charged with following through on his bright idea – the triumphant comeback performance of Aldous Snow.

The Good
The humour throughout is pitch-perfect with director Nicholas Stoller managing to reign in the natural exuberance of Brand but also keep the increasingly tedious Apatow influence at arms length. Even during a prolonged, drug-fuelled party sequence, there’s enough originality in the material to compensate for the number of similar scenes. Russell Brand sticks with his well-known persona but it’s finally shown in some context. The brief interlude in London does a great job in conveying the public rise to fame the comedian experienced whilst also showing the fantastic highs and inevitable lows of such a lifestyle.

The supporting cast are great with standout performances from Jonah Hill, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs and Rose Byrne, who boasts an impeccable English accent, albeit one you’d expect to hear outside a club in Camden late at night. Also keep an eye out for Colm Meaney as Snow’s father, who has just as insatiable an appetite for the high life as his son does.

The Bad
Get Him to the Greek is Russell Brand’s first starring role but it’s hardly a stretch from anything else he’s done in the past and at times it feels like he’s just stepped off the stage from one of his stand-up shows. Despite his character working well within the context of the film, it makes you wonder what else he can do.

Worth seeing?
Nit-picking aside, Get Him to the Greek is probably the funniest comedy this side of The Hangover. It pretty much covers all bases and goes beyond expectations. Highly recommended.