GET HIM TO THE GREEK
Starring Russell Brand, Jonah Hill & Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Rated R
1:09

Get him to the Greek” is the spin-off of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” we’ve been clamouring for since Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) first got into that bitchy blonde’spants in 2008. Now in his very own feature-length follow-up, “Greek,” Snow has fallen off the sobriety wagon entirely — prompting the rock legend to partake in a string of motel-trashing ragers, absinthe binges and celebrity debauchery.

The grandeur doesn’t last long. Following the release of a racist ditty, Snow is quickly crushed under the pile of tabloid outrage that descends upon him. His career seems to have finally reached its breaking point. Fortunately for Snow, optimistic record label intern Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) — the drooling fan boy in “Sarah Marshall” — suggests to his hard-ass boss Sergio (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs) that Snow stage his comeback at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. “Greek” follows the resulting mayhem as a frantic Green tries to get Snow from London to L.A. in time for the big show.

There’s no doubt that the cast is bizarre — but the mix works surprisingly well for the film.

The film mocks Brand’s very public past of sex and drug addiction, utilizing his character’s outrageous persona to satirize a society fixated on fame and mocks his. He delivers side-splitters with ease, and his performance is a delusional and drug-addled one, stumbling through the streets of Las Vegas in search of a fix — it’s a sequence so organic it seems that he’s done it before.

Not to be outdone, Diddy surprises us in his first comedic role as an intimidating boss. He wrenches laughter from an unsuspecting audience with one-liner gems like “I’m mind-fucking the shit out of you right now” capping off the film’s brilliant comedic timing. By contrast, Hill — a comparative expert in the role of the funnyman — disappoints as Diddy’s lapdog. The “Superbad” veteran is sidelined in “Greek” as a naïve newcomer who attempts to capture audience sympathies, but fails to please with his overeager demeanor.

Nonetheless, “Greek” possesses a coveted ability to transport the audience into the helter-skelter mayhem of celebrity life, all while inducing laughter. The well-crafted comedic backbone of this summer flick is sure to make “Greek” the 2010 equivalent of “The Hangover”— brimming with swearing, confusion and a fuckload of alcohol.