Get Him To the Greek (Blu-ray)

In order to gain favour with his money-minded boss, Aaron Green (Hill), a record company intern and huge fan of on-and-off the wagon rock star, Aldous Snow, suggests recreating Snow's finest ever performance at the Greek Theatre. Charged with babysitting Snow from London to LA, Aaron must keep his rock idol sober and drug-free until the big comeback gig, though Snow's rock 'n' roll lifestyle proves more than Aaron can handle.
 
A spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall in which Russell Brand recreates his role as rock icon and fulltime shagger, Aldous Snow, your enjoyment of Get Him To The Greek very much depends on your opinion of the controversial Brit comedian. This is very much Brand's show, and while there is entertaining support from Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, Rose Byrne and rotund everyman, Jonah Hill (himself carted over from Sarah Marshall, but playing a different role), it's Brand's wounded rock star shtick that provides the backbone for this knockabout comedy.
 
There's no doubt Brand can act, and even if his loveable tearaway act is wearing a bit thin, he has presence and a seemingly effortless knack for performance. Ultimately though, Get Him To The Greek is no Sarah Marshall. Director Nicholas Stoller (the man behind the aforementioned Marshall) attempts to conjure up the winning formula of heartbreak and humour of all over again and while it works on occasion (indeed, Get Him To The Greek is sometimes funny and sometimes touching), the film simply feels too disjointed with too few laughs.
 
Brand's big toothy grin sparkles in this Blu-ray release, which sees the booze-fuelled shenanigans enjoying a solid high definition upgrade. Quality saturation and colouring, together with distinct detail and impressive sharpness should provide a complaints-free experience on the picture quality side of things, at least for the most part. The odd blip does emerge in the form of weak contrast during some of the less brightly lit scenes. The Blu-ray's audio is pretty spot-on, doing wonders with the music video/live performance sections, while the dialogue is generally audible and clear.
 
The special features include a lively and informative commentary from the cast and crew, including the director, producer and the main cast members, plus three smirk-inducing featurettes which go behind the scenes of the film and the music of Aldous Snow. The disc also includes both the theatrical version of the movie, and a slightly longer (too long really) ‘Extended Version’.

Overall Verdict: Entertaining enough but far from essential. Stick with a Blu-ray rental of this one...

Special Features:
U Control
Theatrical/Extended Version
Audio Commentary with Cast and Crew
‘Getting To Get Him To The Greek’ Featurette
‘Getting In Tune With The Greek’ Featurette
‘The Making of African Child’ Featurette
Karaoke

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths