It's Possible to Forget How to Laugh

[honeybunnylilb]

Ironically, Forgetting Sarah Marshall reminded me of something I had forgotten for some time. I had forgotten what it was like to enjoy a truly satisfying comedic experience. I didn't even realize what I had been missing until I found myself covering my mouth in sheer delight/shock/awe/recognition on multiple occasions. I don't watch sitcoms anymore. I haven't since Extras went off the air, and that show was more cringe-inducing than out-and-out funny. I can't really get into the US version of The Office, or 30 Rock or How I Met Your Mother - the sitcoms people point to as keeping the genre alive. I liked Knocked Up but I don't even remember how funny it was (not the way that I remember There's Something About Mary almost causing loss of bladder control a decade ago). I really didn't like Superbad. The romantic comedies with the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson are so ungrounded from reality that I can't believe in them enough to laugh at them. I'd seen the trailers for Sarah Marshall and wasn't really impressed, but then I read some reviews from my favourite critics and decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did. When I was leaving the theatre, my friend ask me what I thought and I could only muster "I needed that." Truer words were never spoken.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall in four words: pitch-perfect, cathartic, endearing, fun