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WonderCon 08: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I just came from the WonderCon preview panel for Forgetting Sarah Marshall where they showed six minutes of footage (a mix of old and new), and I’m still laughing.
By  · Published on February 23rd, 2008

I hate it when a movie blows its wad in the trailer. Just about all kinds of movies are guilty of it, but comedies seem to be the most egregious. When I saw the first trailer for Forgetting Sarah Marshall I laughed a few times, but I figured those were the best bits from the movie. Then the red band trailer was released and I laughed quite a bit more. Again though, I was convinced those had to be the funniest lines and scenes the movie had to offer.

Well I just came from the WonderCon preview panel for Forgetting Sarah Marshall where they showed six minutes of footage (a mix of old and new), and I’m still laughing. I’m cynical enough to say again that there can’t be anything funny left in the film, but at this point I wouldn’t bet on it. The movie looks laugh your ass off funny. Like Superbad funny. That isn’t really a surprise as it’s an Apatow and Friends production, but then again so was Walk Hard: A Dewey Cox Story

On stage today for the WonderCon preview were director Nick Stoller, writer/star Jason Segal, regular stars Mila Kunis, Jack McBrayer, Russell Brand, Kristen Bell, and producer Shauna Robertson. Aside from Bell, who is as bland as an air-flavored rice cake, the cast is fun, witty, and entertaining in person. Segal is endearing in his first starring role. Kunis is lively and looking better than she ever appeared on That 70’s Show. McBrayer is playing the same character he does on 30 Rock (although the point was raised that he may be playing himself), which is fine because he’s still funny. The real surprise here is Brand. Already a star in England, if he’s half as hysterical in the movie as he is in person he won’t be a stranger here for long. And Bell? She bores all five of my senses. A skinny girl in a bikini is not automatically hot, and that same skinny girl in a Judd Apatow movie is not automatically funny.

The Q and A wasn’t very revealing, although one deranged fan did ask Bell about a possible Veronica Mars reunion. She responded that there have been “talks” about a possible movie, but that they’d have to hurry up before the cast gets too old. I think she’s lying. The others had nothing new to report on the movie front, although Segal did say his penis is available for film work, both professional and home movies.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall opens April 18th.

For more photos from WonderCon 2008, head over to our Official Flickr Page where I will be posting new stuff all weekend.

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Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.