GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Not since The 40-Year-Old Virgin has a film so perfectly blended raunchy humor with a tender heart to create a kick-ass comedy that scores on every level right from frame one.

Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), the film pairs affable record-company lackey Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) with boozing, heroin-addicted, party-hungry rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) for a transcontinental buddy flick. The deal? Aaron’s got 72 hours to get wild-child Aldous from London, England, to Los Angeles for a televised anniversary concert that will (they hope) revive the latter’s dying career and earn Aaron brownie points with his hotheaded boss (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs in a brilliant, scene-stealing turn).

Problem is, Aldous doesn’t like to play by the rules, and his flights of fancy send the duo on one misadventure after another, including but not limited to: a reunion with Aldous’ estranged pop-tart girlfriend, Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), a panicked Today Show appearance and a Las Vegas pit stop gone horribly awry.

There’s really not much for me to critique with this film, because there’s just so much right with it – I loved it from the get-go. Everything about it feels well-honed and fine-tuned to bring out the absolute best all-around. Brand and Hill (whom I adore) have fantastic chemistry and comic timing, and they make for a hugely appealing and wickedly funny onscreen team whether they're cleaning up vomit or talking about feelings. Brand is especially strong, proving in several more-serious scenes that he’s just as skilled at drama as he is comedy, and the supporting players – from Diddy to Byrne to Elisabeth Moss (as Aaron’s medical-resident girlfriend) – are all terrific.

The screenplay and story are as crude as they are poignant and curiously touching, with issues like friendship, loneliness, loss, depression and love anchoring the film in heart. Making it even better is the fact that each moment – not each scene, each moment -- has obviously been carefully crafted to ground the film in reality while simultaneously cranking up the absurd. The riotously awful lyrics and videos to Aldous’ music are matched by the audacious and outrageously sexual lyrics and videos featuring Jackie, and a whole slew of real-life music-industry folk appear in cameos to add just a touch more authenticity to the proceedings.

I laughed loudly and often throughout Get Him to the Greek. It’s the first truly great comedy I’ve seen this year, and I’m actually looking forward to seeing it again.