Forgetting Sarah Marshall opened in theaters in 2008, and a decade later it remains one of the best break-up films of all time.
Starring How I Met Your Mother’s Jason Segel as a man trying to escape his ex-girlfriend on vacation, only to run right into staying at the same hotel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is nothing if not a consistently hysterical movie.
Videos by PopCulture.com
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84 percent Fresh, Forgetting Sarah Marshall deserves far more credit than it gets for how side-splittingly hilarious it is.
Below, we have put together a list of all the things that make the film so memorable. Scroll down to check it out and let us know in the comments what your favorite part is!
It’s Incredibly Quotable
From start to finish, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is chock-full of some of the most quotable lines from any comedy film.
From “now I have the freshest cereal” to “I wish I wasn’t wearing this f—ing shirt” and the brilliantly hilarious mini-monologue about the lost sandal, fans of the film can recite it all the way through.
Aldous Snow / Russell Brand
Russell Brand had been familiar to global comedy fans for years before he appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but this was his first major exposure to American audiences.
Playing the outlandish rock star Aldous Snow — who really wasn’t all that far off from how he was in real life — Brand made a huge impression.
His role was so memorable that it spawned a spinoff with 2010’s, Get Him To The Greek.
Kunu
With our list being in no particular order, it is safe to say that Paul Rudd as Kunu the Surfing Instructor is actually the best part of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
He has the best lines, period. A few of which are as follows:
“I’m going to give you a Hawaiian name… Peepyopee!”
“You sound like you’re from London!“
“When life gives you lemons, just say ‘F— the lemons,’ and bail.”
“Oh the weather outside is weather…!” [sung to himself]
If you watch/rewatch Forgetting Sarah Marshall for any reason, do it for Kunu.
Mila Kunis & Sarah Marshall Herself
Forgetting Sarah Marshall would be be nothing without its two flawless female leads, Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell.
Kunis’ Rachel Jansen is a no-nonsense personality who know who show is and what she wants, and Bell plays an uncharacteristically mean-spirited and vindictive ex-girlfriend in the titular role.
Both actresses deliver performances that easily standout as both funny and bold.
The Hilarious Supporting Cast
In addition to the main cast, the supporting cast also serves up some laugh-out-loud comedy.
Jonah Hill, Jack McBrayer, Maria Thayer, Da’Vone McDonald, and Bill Hader all add a lot to the sheer hilarity that is Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
While they all have great lines, maybe the best is Hill’s waiter Matthew casually dropping, “Oh ok, I’ll just go f— myself then,” after feeling slighted.
That Break-up Scene
For all it’s brilliant dialogue and hilarious one-liners, the most memorable moment in all of Forgetting Sarah Marshall is definitely the naked break-up scene.
After getting out of the show and walking into the living room with a towel on, Segal’s Peter Bretter is confronted by Sarah who proceeds to dump him. Just as the conversation starts, Peter drops the towel and inadvertently subjects himself to a being dumped in his birthday suit.
Believe it or not, Segel — who wrote the film — later revealed that this was based on a moment that actually happened to him in real life.
“A Taste for Love”
One of the most important elements of Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the Dracula puppet-musical that Peter writes and eventually gets to put on.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop created the puppets used in the film and helped to choreograph and execute the play, which is seen at the end of the movie.
None of it would be possible, however, without Peter’s Dracula song, which he reluctantly plays for a room full of bar patrons in Hawaii.
Nicholas Stoller
Last, but certainly not least, Forgetting Sarah Marshall would not have been possible without the guidance and direction of Nicholas Stoller [pictured above left, with Apatow (center) and Segel (right)].
Prior to this film, Stoller had written the Jim Carrey films, Fun with Dick and Jane and Yes Man, but this was his first time directing.
He also worked as a writer on the Judd Apatow-created TV series Undeclared, which is one of then most underrated shows to ever be prematurely cancelled.
Stoller would later go on to write and direct Get Him to the Greek, as well as other critically acclaimed comedies like The Muppets and Neighbors.
