Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie Review

Stroke the furry wall. Go ahead, you won't be sorry.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 23, 2010

I admit it, I am smitten with Russell Brand. No, not that way. This gangly, frankly odd appearing and behaving individual, who looks like he could have sprung from the fertile, fishnet-stockinged loins of Tim Curry’s Frank-N-Furter, is one part Eddie Izzard and one part Rabelais. I had seen Brand in a couple of supporting roles in films, but he really hadn’t made that much of an impression until I caught one of his standup routines on television one night and was simply blown away that he built an entire bit around the poetry of Beaudelaire. Beaudelaire! While some of Brand’s decisions in his public life have been less than artful (he evidently dressed up like Osama bin Laden on September 12, 2001, surely not among the most sensitive things he could have done), there’s no denying Brand’s native intelligence, as snarky and provocative as it might be at times. And so who better to portray a washed up rock star with several addiction problems? Brand’s Aldous Snow character first popped up in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a sort of Keith Richards minus Captain Jack Sparrow clone who lurched through life in an alcohol and drug fueled haze, cutting a swath through womankind but also showing a rather unexpected vulnerable side. In Forgetting Sarah Marshall Jonah Hill also cropped up as an obsessed Snow fan, and he basically riffs on that same character (though he is ostensibly a different person here), in Get Him to the Greek, a film which often doesn’t make a great deal of sense but which is so bawdy and outrageous you most likely won’t care, especially as you’ll also most likely be laughing your posterior off quite a bit of the time.

Worst. Video. Ever.

Get Him to the Greek plays like a buddy movie or one of the old Hope and Crosby Road movies, albeit on copious amounts of some hallucinogenic substance. The film starts with an hysterical compendium of Snow’s latest music video, “African Child,” as well as his own commentary and some interview segments, all of which quickly paint the picture of perhaps the worst single and attendant video ever released in the annals of pop or rock music. As Snow later avers to Hill’s Aaron Green character, a record company intern who has been assigned to monitor the volatile star through a comeback tour, “They said that after war and famine, ‘African Child’ was the worst thing to ever happen to Africa.” Brand’s lascivious goofiness plays perfectly with Hill’s nerdy schmuck persona, and this very, very odd couple has unusually hilarious chemistry throughout much of the film.

There’s basically little plot here, other than Hill’s Green character coming up with a master plan to save Pinnacle Records by having Brand’s Snow recreate an iconic performance at Los Angeles’ Greek Theater which had occurred ten years previously. Pinnacle is run by the tempermental Sergio Roma, portrayed by Sean “Diddy” Combs in a simply fantastic over the top performance. Aaron soon discovers that being a fan and being an artist wrangler are two completely different things, with vastly different skill sets. Aaron is so obviously in over his head that any attempt to do anything other than tag along for the wild ride Aldous is providing is next to impossible.

While Get Him to the Greek, like Aldous himself, sometimes lurches uneasily between anecdotal sequences, those sequences themselves contain some priceless comedic gems. From the absolutely incredible and surreal Today Show sequence, which features none other than Meredith Vieira and, even more incredibly, economist-commentator Paul Krugman (Paul Krugman!) to perhaps the most awkward ménage a trois ever captured on film (with Brand, Hill and Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss as Hill’s girlfriend), Get Him to the Greek may not always be a model of subtlety, but it is so completely outrageously funny you can’t help but laugh. To be fair, though, this is an exceptionally intelligent film, especially considering its potty-mouthed, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll obsessed ethos.

This smartness often plays out in throwaway lines which come so quickly that you have to really be paying attention to fully catch the almost Monty Python-esque grandeur of their silliness. During the “African Child” sequence, Aldous waxes philosophical about the costume he has asked for, informing the audience that he wanted something along the lines of a “White Space Christ.” He then continues, “I’m not saying I am a White Space Christ.” Artful pause. “That’s for other people to say.” Priceless. There’s also an uproarious sequence where Aaron is having a bad trip (having ingested a drug cocktail Aldous calls a “Geoffrey,” which I of course know nothing about—my name is after all spelled the American way), which includes a great Pulp Fiction sendup.

Get Him to the Greek ultimately manages to succeed so well because it invests so much heart in Hill’s Aaron Green and, perhaps less expectedly, Brand’s Aldous Snow. By the time Aldous is suicidal and considering jumping off a Los Angeles hotel roof, against all odds, the audience actually cares for this boorish oaf. In a comedy this filled with slapstick and outright character shtick, it’s a testament to writer-director Nicholas Stoller that there’s this much emotional content. That furry wall isn’t the only warm and fuzzy feeling you’ll experience watching Get Him to the Greek.

Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Get Him to the Greek gets to Blu-ray with a mostly excellent AVC encoded image in full 1080p and a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This is a film which exploits several different filming techniques, and some may be aghast at the overly grainy, video-esque opening, bathed in a soft amber light with low contrast, until it becomes clear we're watching a music video. As the film moves into its main storyline, we get abundant detail and some really nicely saturated color. The concert sequences sparkle and pop nicely, and the location footage in London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles looks, for the most part, spectacular. I do have a few nits to pick, which keep this from getting a higher video score. Both Brand's gray and black knit cap and Colm Meaney's tightly patterned Las Vegas shirt can't quite resolve correctly on the Blu-ray, and so we get some pretty bad shimmer off of both of them. Slightly less apparent, if no less troubling, is an overall lack of really strong contrast. This is most noticeable in the many dark scenes of the movie, where dark costumes disappear into the shadows and black levels become a sort of inchoate mass where no discernable detail is apparent. Overall, though, this a nicely sharp and colorful looking Blu-ray which recreates the original film experience quite admirably.

Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Get Him to the Greek's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a boisterous, loud and very effective sonic offering that supports both the many musical segments in the film, as well as the (relatively) quieter dialogue driven moments. The surround mix is quite appealing throughout the film, and is extremely immersive right off the bat, as we're greeted with what appears to be a battle, into which African drums suddenly start appearing in the surrounds, and just as suddenly we're off into Aldous' abhorrent single "African Child." Surround placement is very smartly handled throughout the film, not just limited to the music. Interview segments are clearly directional and some of the busier moments, as in the Today Show set scene or some of the Las Vegas segments, feature a wealth of clutter and clatter arriving from several directions at once. Fidelity here is superb, and lows are especially robust, making the faux rock of Infant Sorrow at least tolerable if not exactly enjoyable.

Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Universal has turned Get Him to the Greek's bonus content up to 11, so to speak. The Blu-ray includes:

• Two versions of the film, the original theatrical cut, which runs 1:49:11 and the (slightly) extended cut, running 1:53:51;
• A raucous and often hilarious Commentary with director Nicholas Stoller, producer Rodney Rothman, and castmembers Brand, Byrne and Moss;
• Documentaries, which include three featurettes: 1) Getting Into Get Him Back to the Greek (HD; 32:07) featuring a lot of funny footage, including a table read which can't get past the cast joking with each other; 2) Getting in Tune With the Greek (HD; 13:47), focusing on the music being recorded; and 3) Making of African Child (HD; 6:26) a very funny extended version of clips which are in the film and which serve as a near perfect sendup of artistic self-delusion;
• Music Videos, including uncut footage of the songs performed in the film. These include: Greek Concert 1999 (HD; 6:35), Greek Concert 2009 (HD; 11:36), The Today Show (HD; 3:04), VH1 Storytellers: Furry Walls (HD; 3:22), World Tour: Riding Daphne (HD; 3:48) and London 02 Concert (HD; 11:00); Karaoke, which offers 15 songs with subtitles culled from the film and extras; U Control, which is surprisingly lame, offering only music producing and performing credits for all of the film's songs.

But wait, you also get: a Bonus SD-DVD which contains:

• Gag Reels (Parts 1 and 2) (10:18), including a great moment when a magnitude 4.0 earthquake hits the set while cameras are rolling;
• Line-O-Rama (9:12), a weird but very funny quick cut assemblage of various lines from the film;
• Alternate Intro: The Castle (5:53), which shows a launch party for Aldous' infamous "African Child" music video;
• Alternate Ending: Riding Daphne (3:17), a very funny short scene with Brand asking for Hill's reaction to "Riding Daphne";
• 17 Deleted Scenes (18:20);
• 22 Extended and Alternate Scenes (35:47);
• Blind Medicine (2:31), a side splitting selection of scenes from Sarah Marshall's new hit show;
• Interviews (18:02), featuring uncut segments that both were included and didn't make the final cut of the film, including a completely surreal appearance by Aldous on The View;
• Cast Auditions (17:47).

The film also includes a Digital Copy on the SD-DVD, as well as pocketBlu and social media features. BD-Live enabling offers one final supposed "bonus," the chance to stream either Uncle Buck, Life or Dazed and Confused.

Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Color me slightly amazed. I was frankly expecting another pretty stupid, lame comedy that had a few intermittent giggles scattered throughout a barren wasteland. Instead, Get Him to the Greek has one big laugh after another. Yes, it's frequently crude and tasteless, but isn't that rock 'n' roll in a nutshell? Brand and Hill make an oddly adorable couple, and the supporting cast is aces. If you're not easily offended and have a somewhat jaded sense of humor, Get Him to the Greek may well be the most enjoyable comedy you'll see this year. Highly recommended.