1. Gender bridge

Jason Segel is such a girl. In the best way. In fact, he may just be the gender bridge we’ve been looking for. The soft side of Barack, the tough part of Hillary. Someone said Judd Apatow — whose company produced “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” — makes chick flicks for guys.
Dick flicks, you might say, that do involve male genitalia in almost every scene but also dig deep into the male emotional core.

 2. Sad-happy-bridge

Horny, but also vulnerable. Or as one hotel employee puts in this film, “sad tissues” and “happy tissues.”All I know is I had a smile on my face through almost every scene of “Sarah Marshall” and laughed out loud more times than I can count. I still have the Hawaiian version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” in my head and I hope it never leaves.

The most blatant of those elements is, naturally, the edgy humor, which is often - but not always - sexual in nature. There are at least a dozen really huge laughs in the film, and a couple dozen more big ones. The nude breakup is certain funny (in a weird kind of way), as is a sex scene toward the end, which has to rank as one of the most hilarious copulation scenes ever. (It involves two couples in adjoining rooms.) The movie also finds humor in Peter’s burgeoning awareness that life with Sarah wasn’t all roses. In spite of the fact that he pines for her, each island encounter with Sarah reminds him of something that wasn’t quite right in their relationship. During a very witty flashback scene, we see him acting as a lackey to his glamorous girlfriend instead of being an equal. I laughed at lot at the picture, and what’s best is that the humor springs from relatable situations and the genuine emotions of the characters.

 3.Obsession-awakening-bridge

That’s the set-up; the rest of Forgetting Sarah Marshall follows what happens as Peter struggles to get back on his feet as he keeps running into the woman who dumped him. The point is that it’s hard to “forget” someone you cared about. Even after you break up, you tend to carry them around for a while, like a heavy piece of luggage. Peter grows jealous thinking about Sarah with another man. The jealousy turns to depression, which eventually gives way to anger. He discusses the situation with other people he encounters on the island, including a stoner surfing instructor (Paul Rudd), a sexually frustrated newlywed (”30 Rock” star Jack McBrayer), and, most significantly, the resort’s front desk clerk, Rachel (Mila Kunis). Rachel has been through the breakup wringer too, and she empathizes with Peter’s plight, often trying to help him rediscover his strength. But everytime he starts to feel strong again, there’s Sarah, and even the most awkward interaction with her threatens to send him crashing again.

4.  Adult degeneration-mental growth-bridge

And that is the less-blatant, but most impressive, element of the Apatow formula. Forgetting Sarah Marshall may have an abundance of adult humor, but that’s only because it’s dealing with adult issues. Segal’s screenplay is uncommonly wise about break-ups. As both a writer and a performer, he knows that break-ups are frightening and sad, yet also occasions for self-growth. Over the course of the movie, we see Peter Bretter go from complete devastation and misery to a kind of inner peace. He initially thinks the split with Sarah will kill him, but slowly realizes that quite the opposite is true. The movie suggests that only in hindsight do we see our failed relationships for what they really were, and from there we can evolve.

5. Realism-surrealism-bridge

It’s real. Talking about what you fixate on when you miss someone, what seems important when your life suddenly loses a big piece, it’s all true. Just like John Cusack and his photo hangers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall points a finger at reality with a surreal wink.

Also a romance. The film loses a big of momentum when Bretter starts putting his life back together. Then it’s just a standard romance. There are a few funny tangents, but all the stunty set pieces are just mediocre. The uncomfortable moments between Bretter and Marshall falls by the wayside for a long time, and that’s the heart of the story.

Mostly Qtd. http://www.geocities.com/gamut_mag/forgetsm.htm

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/forgetting_sarah_marshall/