Get Him To The Greek

Get Him to the Greek (2010)

Director: Nicholas Stoller

Cast: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, P Diddy, Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Moss

Get Him to the Greek has remained largely unrecognized and taken for granted, a forgotten gem that premiered among a series of abrasive and crude comedies in the last five years. This is most likely because of the popularity and succession of the Jonah Hill canon, and the pervading unpopularity of Russell Brand, who's subsequent film, Arthur, was perceived as one of the worst of the year.

However, despite its seemingly stock and generic genre biases, Get Him to the Greek surpasses its counterparts in characterization and wit, in part due to the brilliant chemistry between Hill and Brand. Underneath the surface of bro-comedy laughs, GHTTG is a rather depressing film involving a failed rock star who has lost his career and family because he could not curb his substance abuse, and an unfortunate and overweight corporate lackey who has long awaited his big chance to prove himself in the eyes of his boss, music industry leader Sergio Roma (Pdiddy).

GHTTG opens with Sergio asking his subservient minions (with hilarious cameos afforded by Aziz Ansari and Nick Kroll) to present him with ideas for the next big music star. Sergio assures his employees that well, fuck the recession, he's "gonna be fine." It's his employees who are fucked, and this pronouncement transports the film into our own relevant and failing epoch of talentless entertainment and superficial, money-making promotions.

Aaron Green (Hill) boldly suggests that his company try to revitalize the career of his favorite musician, Aldous Snow (Brand), who has already been introduced in a hilarious interlude of MTV paparazzi shenaningans and his failed marriage with pop-star Jackie (a perfect Rose Byrne). Green's idea is initially shut down by Sergio, only later to be picked up again, and solidifies the realistic pace and tone of the movie. Green is suffering from serious relationship problems with his live-in girlfriend and medical resident, Daphne (Elizabeth Moss), and they break up because of his own career insecurities. Green is sent on a mission: retrieve Alduos in London and make sure he arrives at The Greek in Los Angeles for a come-back show.

What ensues for the demure Green is a tumult of Bushmills swilling, coke and extasy laden parties, and one nightclub black-out frenzy as Aldous ambivalently accompanies Green with pit stops on NYC and Las Vegas. Green goes out of his way and beyond his ethics for Aldous. On their way to the Today Show, Green smokes the remainder of Aldous's joint and whiskey to prevent him from making a mess of himself on live television. In Las Vegas, Green is encouraged to smoke a "Jeffrey", a fat blunt filled with PCP, weed, crack, and basically "a little of everything." We meet Aldous's father, a former rock star who engages in a violent confrontation with his son. Throughout, Aldous attempts to connect with his ex-wife, who informs him at the end that his son is not his, but was fathered by another man.

Shockingly, GHTTG turns out to be a movie about love. Aldous consistently tries to reconcile with Jackie as Green attempts to correct his mistake of breaking things off with Daphne. The men's relationships serve as a dichotomy that pushes the plot along and culminates in the fracture of their bro-ship. By the time the duo make it to LA, the despondent Aldous has lost all hope after meeting with Jackie, and attempts to kill himself by jumping off a building into the street below. Of course, he is saved in the end by Green, who convinces him that his life does, in fact, have purpose. His music makes people happy, after all, and what more could he ask for?

GHTTG is a comedy about friendship, personal success, and second chances. Although Green attempts to prevent Aldous from going on stage at the end and further feed into Sergio's corporate pressure, Aldous declines, and assures his friend that he loves performing more than anything. By performing on his own accord and realizing he needs to stop his drug use, Snow has evolved into his own agent. This irony bumps GHTTG from generic B stock comedy, to a highly characterized portrait of failure and perseverance.

A