No real surprises in

'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Rated R

(Two stars)

By Bruce Bulloch

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" may have been shooting for a screwball comedy sensibility, but what it delivers feels a lot more like T-ball.

Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) gets out of the shower one day to find his girlfriend of five years, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), waiting to break up with him. In his shock he drops his towel. The sight of Peter's naked body delivers about a half second of shock value but the scene goes on with director Nicholas Stoller swinging wildly, trying to connect with some kind of hilarity. Like little Timmy at the T-ball stand, he whiffs it about 18 times sure there's a home run to be had. There isn't.

Sarah, it turns out, is a Hollywood starlet riding high on the success of her new TV show and Peter, with his pale, doughy body, isn't the kind of A-list accessory her career has come to demand.

Devastated, Peter escapes to a Hawaiian resort to mend his wounds and promptly bumps into Sarah and her new squeeze. The new boyfriend, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), is everything that Peter isn't. He's a rock star, sex god, and cheerily amoral charmer. Aldous' effete Hollywood beauty only reinforces a suspicion sparked by Segel's nude scene: that Peter looks a little like Mr. Potato Head.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is not an altogether bad movie and is not devoid of laughs. As the heartbroken, lovesick Peter stalks Sarah and Aldous across the resort, he calls up his brother (Bill Hader) on his cell phone. Peter's inevitable discovery and humiliation are accompanied by a hysterical sound track of his brother screaming into the phone for Peter to get the hell out of there. Stoller could use a couple of more scenes like that. He delivers too few and, believe me, its not for lack of trying.

Fortunately for Peter - and us - he also runs into Rachel (Mila Kunis), the hotel concierge. Rachel takes pity on Peter and the two begin to hang out, sparking a little romantic tension that will eventually catch the eye of Sarah.

Kunis creates a sweet character in Rachel, playing against the screechy, teen princess she made famous in "That '70s Show." She conjures up enough chemistry with the charismatically challenged Segel to nurse the plot through its frequent lulls. She is the one member of this very talented cast that manages to show off some real star power.

By contrast the talents of Kristen Bell, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, and Jack McBrayer are, for the most part, wasted. Stoller's "stick with me while I try to make this work" style of directing gives the audience time to recall the many roles where these actors were used to much more entertaining effect. Bell is stunningly beautiful here and gives some weight to Peter's lovesick follies, but she has much more to offer.

Not wasted is Russell Brand. Brand seems to know just how much - and how little - he has to work with in this film. He relaxes into his role has a lot of fun with Aldous' good-natured narcissism.

Eventually Sarah's jealousy gets the best of her and she resets her sights on Peter. Peter finds himself in the enviable position of having two beautiful women vying for his attention. There are no real surprises, but that's not what romantic comedies are about anyway. We all know where the story is heading; we just want to have a little fun along the way. What Stoller delivers is less of a rollercoaster ride and more of an earnest practice session. Success may consist of 90 percent perspiration, but in a romantic comedy it shouldn't show up on the screen.

Bruce Bulloch may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com