‘Get Him to the Greek’
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Stars: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand
Rating: R
Grade: ?????
Great in concept, lame in delivery, “Get Him to the Greek” starts strong and gets weaker as the show goes on. Clocking in at nearly two solid hours, the fatal flaw with “Greek” is its third act, which drags along endlessly, breaking the momentum of the first 45 minutes.
The opening of the film is a flash of TMZ paparazzi video, Perez Hilton, tabloid covers and TV appearances of recovered alcoholic Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) going off the rails once his longtime love, Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), leaves him.
“So hip! So now!” the audience might be thinking as mock-up YouTube clips offer exposition for the main story. And they’re right. But the punch of those opening scenes reveal the best of what the film has to offer.
The plot isn’t as paint-by-numbers as most comedies are, but while the break from certain tired tropes of the genre is refreshing, from there the film just doesn’t go to a place that is actually funny.
Hill and Brand each have a natural charm, but the jokes sometimes fail them. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, as label exec Sergio Roma, does his stiff, tough guy thing, scaring Hill with claims that he’s an expert in “mind-f—ing.” He’s OK, but it’s a one-note joke.
“Get Him to the Greek” isn’t the comedy of the summer, but it also isn’t as obnoxiously bad as, say “The Hottie and the Nottie.” Problem is, it could have been perfect — if only it was given a little more time in the oven and less time on the screen.
