We first met rock star Aldous Snow (Brand) in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", which was a fine comedy. Arguably, Mr. Snow stole nearly every scene he was in, signaling that he might be a little too big a personality for his co-star status. In that film Snow had just hopped onto the sobriety wagon. In "Get Him to the Greek", we get to see him hop back off.
Low level music exec Aaron Green (Hill) has been charged with the (at first) enviable job of escorting his idol to a Today Show appearance followed by a career rejuvenating show at the Greek Theatre in L.A.. Trying to get a sober rock star to be anywhere on time is a task in and of itself, and as previously mentioned, Snow is far from sober. His fall from grace was kicked off by the release of an album called "African Child", which one reviewer dubbed to be "the worst thing to happen to Africa since Apartheid". Ouch. That's going to be a hard one to come back from! Couple that with the fact that the mother of his child and long time musical collaborator, Jackie Q (Byrne) has just left him, and you have got a recipe for one hell of a bender.
Aaron, meanwhile, is about as green (nicely done) as one can be in the music industry. He is a fan, above all else, yet to be jaded by the system. Here to make sure he eventually will be is his boss, Sergio Roma, played by a surprisingly funny Sean Combs. Aaron's fear of Sergio drives the early parts of the film as he desperately tries to keep Aldous on track while simultaneously trying to keep him placated. As a result of the latter, Aaron spends a great deal of time inebriated while still trying to accomplish the former. Aldous treats his nine to five just as seriously as Aaron, you see. His nine to five just happens to be getting soused.
This is a very funny film. And while it does touch upon some heavy business in the third act, it never forgets that it is a comedy. And if you are wondering whether or not Snow deserved his own film, wonder no more. Russell Brand is absolutely phenomenal in a part he appears to have been born to play. He has got old school, British rock swagger in spades. Even his songs border on believability ("Inside of you. Inside of you. There's got to be some part of me inside of you")!
Let's face it, the sad, lonely rock star bit is old hat. It is a testament to both Brand's performance and Nicholas Stoller's direction that Snow never comes off as a caricature. And while Jonah Hill is perfect as a foil for Brand's shenanigans, make no mistake: This is Aldous Snow's show.
Kmatt
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