Get Him to the Greek

Get Him to the Greek is a 2010 American comedy film written, produced and directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Released on June 4, 2010, the film is a spin-off sequel of Stoller's 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, reuniting director Stoller with stars Hill and Brand and producer Judd Apatow. Brand reprises his role as character Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, while Hill plays an entirely new character referred to as Aaron Green instead of Matthew Van Der Wyk. The film also stars Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Colm Meaney.

Get Him to the Greek
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNicholas Stoller
Produced by
Written byNicholas Stoller
Based onCharacters
by Jason Segel
Starring
Music byLyle Workman
CinematographyRobert Yeoman
Edited by
  • William Kerr
  • Michael Sale
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • June 4, 2010 (2010-06-04)
Running time
109 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[2]
Box office$91.7 million[3]

Plot

In 2009, British rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) releases an album and a titular single, "African Child", which is a commercial and critical failure. In an interview, Aldous's girlfriend, Jackie Q (Rose Byrne), drunkenly declares they have a boring life. Aldous relapses, ending their relationship. He also loses custody of his son, Naples. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) works as a talent scout at a record company, Pinnacle Records. He lives with his girlfriend, Daphne (Elisabeth Moss) who is completing a medical residency at a local hospital. Pinnacle Records is performing poorly, and the head of the company, Sergio Roma (Sean Combs), asks for ideas. Aaron suggests that Aldous play at the Greek Theatre on the tenth anniversary of a performance there in 1999.

Sergio sends Aaron to London to escort Aldous to Los Angeles. Daphne informs Aaron that she has received a residency job offer in Seattle and that they are moving there. They argue and apparently break up. Aaron meets Aldous and learns that he had not been expecting him, thinking that the concert was not for two months. They bar-hop across the city as Aaron tries to get Aldous to catch a flight to New York.

Aaron and Aldous travel to New York for Aldous's appearance on Today. To keep Aldous sober, Aaron imbibes all of Aldous's whiskey and marijuana. While performing live on Today, Aldous is unable to remember the lyrics to his recent song, "African Child", and replaces it with an old hit, "The Clap", to cheers from the audience.

Daphne calls Aaron to apologize, only to learn that Aaron believes they broke up. Aaron drunkenly calls Daphne a “Nazi Doctor” and hangs up. While partying, Aaron's phone accidentally calls Daphne, informing her of Aaron's activities.

During their flight to Los Angeles, Aaron learns that Aldous has become depressed, as he misses his son and has been alienated from his own father, Jonathan (Colm Meaney), for years. Aaron suggests he visit him after the show; instead, Aldous insists they go to Las Vegas to see Jonathan. Sergio hooks up Aaron with a sexually violent girl, Destiny (Carla Gallo), who takes him to a hotel room and rapes him. After Aaron tells Aldous that he has been raped, Aldous gives him drugs to calm him down. Aaron starts to have a bad trip and believes he is having a heart attack. Jonathan agrees Aaron is having a heart attack, while Aldous attempts to calm Aaron down. Aldous fights with Jonathan; Sergio jumps into the fight, inadvertently setting the lounge on fire.

Aldous attempts to help Aaron by giving him an adrenaline shot. They run out of the hotel, chased by Sergio. Aldous and Aaron flee to Los Angeles, where Aaron convinces Aldous to visit Jackie Q. Jackie has been sleeping with Metallica's drummer, Lars Ulrich (playing himself), and confesses that Naples is not actually Aldous's biological son. Meanwhile, Aaron goes to his home to apologize to Daphne. They are interrupted when Aldous arrives and proposes that they engage in a threesome. Daphne agrees and Aaron hesitantly goes along. Aaron angrily decides to kiss Aldous, ending the threesome. Daphne and Aaron both immediately regret it, and Aaron angrily tells Aldous to go, criticizing his mental state. Instead of preparing for his show, Aldous goes to the rooftop of the Standard Hotel, and calls Aaron, threatening to jump. Aaron rushes to the hotel and attempts to talk Aldous down.

Aaron arrives just in time to stop Aldous from jumping. Nevertheless, Aldous jumps into a pool several floors down, breaking his arm. Aldous tells Aaron that he is lonely, sad, and embarrassed, but Aaron reminds Aldous that thousands of fans love him and are waiting to see him. Aldous decides to perform at the Greek Theatre, even though Aaron pleads for him to go to the hospital. Upon their arrival, Sergio offers Aaron drugs to give to Aldous so he will not cancel the concert. Aaron, tired of Sergio's abuse, quits on the spot. Aaron walks stage-side with Aldous, trying to convince him to go to the hospital. However, Aaron sees how happy Aldous is while performing and heads home to reconcile with Daphne. Months later, Aldous, sober again, has returned to fame with a single (produced by Aaron) based on events from their night in Las Vegas.

Cast
Hill at a panel for the film at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas in May 2010

Cameo guest stars

Brand's friends Karl Theobald, Greg "Mr Gee" Sekweyama and Jamie Sives also appear in the film.

Production

Development

A week after the release of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Universal Studios announced a new film, Get Him to the Greek, reuniting Jonah Hill and Russell Brand with writer/director Nicholas Stoller and producer Judd Apatow.[4] Variety initially announced the project would focus on "fresh-out-of-college insurance adjuster (Hill) who is hired to accompany an out-of-control rock star (Brand) from London to a gig at L.A.'s Greek Theatre."[4] In July 2008, Brand mentioned that he would be reprising his Aldous Snow role from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in a new film from Apatow in which the character was back on drugs.[5]

In an interview with CHUD.com, Apatow would later reveal that Get Him to the Greek was indeed a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Brand again playing a no-longer-sober Aldous Snow while in a different interview Nicholas Stoller said that Jonah Hill will play a different character named Aaron Green, a young music executive.[6][7]

Filming
Filming in Cavendish Square, London.

While Brand was backstage at the Paramount studio lot preparing to present the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, he approached Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Katy Perry about filming cameos for Get Him to the Greek.[8]

Rehearsals began on April 27, 2009 and filming began on May 12 of that year. The film was shot in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and London. News footage featured in the film was filmed after a Russell Brand stand up performance of "Scandalous" at the O2 Arena in London, which most of the audience stayed for.[6] While filming in Trafalgar Square, Brand was pushed into a fountain by a passerby.[9][10]

Release

Box office

Get Him to the Greek grossed $61 million in the United States and Canada and $30.7 million overseas bringing its worldwide total to $91.7 million, against a production budget of $40 million.[3]

In its opening weekend, the film debuted second at the box office behind Shrek Forever After with a gross of $17.6 million.[11] The film fell to fourth the following week with a weekend gross of $10.1 million.

In the UK, Get Him to the Greek opened at No. 1 grossing £1.6 million in its first week before dropping to No. 2 the following week with takings of £1 million.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Get Him to the Greek has an approval rating of 72% based on 201 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to a suitably raunchy script and a pair of winning performances from Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, Get Him to the Greek is one of the year's funniest comedies."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on reviews from 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[14]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, writing: "under the cover of slapstick, cheap laughs, raunchy humor, gross-out physical comedy and sheer exploitation, Get Him to the Greek also is fundamentally a sound movie."[15]

A scene in which Jonah Hill is forcibly raped has been lambasted by critics as being "particularly egregious"[16] and "horrific"[17] and of furthering rape culture by "reinforc(ing) cultural myths surrounding the acceptance of rape."[18]

Home media

A 2-disc and 1-disc unrated and theatrical version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on September 28, 2010.

Music

Soundtrack
Get Him to the Greek: Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Infant Sorrow
ReleasedJune 1, 2010
GenreSoundtrack
LabelUniversal Republic
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
allmusic[19]
Pitchfork5.5/10[20]

Kim Garner, the senior vice president of marketing and artist development at Universal Republic Records, said that Brand and Universal Pictures "felt very strongly about doing something like this as opposed to a traditional soundtrack," and that they "wanted to release it like we would an actual rock band's album."[21]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsArtistLength
1."Just Say Yes"Jarvis Cocker, Jason Buckle, Tim McCall, Ross OrtonInfant Sorrow2:18
2."Gang of Lust"Carl BaratInfant Sorrow2:03
3."Furry Walls"Dan Bern, Mike Viola, Judd ApatowInfant Sorrow3:07
4."Going Up"Jason Segel, Lyle WorkmanInfant Sorrow4:06
5."Bangers, Beans and Mash"Jason Segel, Lyle WorkmanInfant Sorrow3:32
6."The Clap"Dan Bern, Mike ViolaInfant Sorrow2:44
7."I Am Jesus"Jason Segel, Lyle WorkmanInfant Sorrow2:39
8."Riding Daphne"Jason Segel, Lyle WorkmanInfant Sorrow3:28
9."F.O.H."Jarvis Cocker, Chilly GonzalesInfant Sorrow3:52
10."Yeah Yeah Oi Oi"Dan Bern, Mitch MarineInfant Sorrow2:52
11."African Child (Trapped in Me)"Mike ViolaInfant Sorrow3:06
12."Little Bird"Mike ViolaInfant Sorrow3:24
13."Searching for a Father"Jason Segel, Lyle WorkmanInfant Sorrow3:43
14."Supertight"Jason Segel, Lyle Workman, Russell BrandJackie Q featuring Aldous Snow2:37
15."Ring Round"Greg Kurstin, Inara GeorgeJackie Q2:25
Total length:46:10
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsArtistLength
16."Jackie Q"Carl BaratInfant Sorrow3:41
17."Pound Me in the Buttox"Paul Clarke, Matthew DickJackie Q featuring Aldous Snow3:31
18."Chocolate Daddy"Lyle Workman, Rodney RothmanChocolate Daddy2:54
19."Fuck Your Shit Up"Lyle WorkmanJumbo Shrimp2:28

The following songs were featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack:

  1. "And Ghosted Pouts (Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt)" by The Mars Volta
  2. "London Calling" by The Clash
  3. "Anarchy in the U.K." by The Sex Pistols
  4. "20th Century Boy" by T.Rex
  5. "Rocks Off" by The Rolling Stones
  6. "Another Girl, Another Planet" by The Only Ones
  7. "Strict Machine" by Goldfrapp
  8. "Ghosts N Stuff" by Deadmau5 featuring Rob Swire
  9. "Personality Crisis" by The New York Dolls
  10. "Girls on the Dance Floor" by Far East Movement
  11. "Heureux Tous Les Deux" by Frank Alamo
  12. "Come on Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners
  13. "Cretin Hop" by The Ramones
  14. "Stop Drop and Roll" by Foxboro Hot Tubs
  15. "Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey
  16. "Love Today" by Mika
  17. "Fuck Me I'm Famous" by DJ Dougal and Gammer
  18. "What Planet You On" by Bodyrox featuring Luciana
  19. "Inside of You" by Infant Sorrow (which was originally featured in Forgetting Sarah Marshall).
  20. "Licky feat. Princess Superstar (Herve Remix)" by Larry Tee

References
  1. "GET HIM TO THE GREEK (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 19, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. Fritz, Ben (June 3, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Get Him to the Greek' and 'Killers' aiming for No. 2 against 'Shrek'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved June 4, 2010. Greek cost Universal and its financing partners Relativity Media and Spyglass Entertainment about $40 million to make.
  3. "Get Him to the Greek Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  4. Siegel, Tatiana (April 22, 2008). "Apatow, Stoller speak 'Greek'". Variety. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
  5. "Brand's Booky Wook not a Filmy Wilm". The Press Association. July 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 12, 2008.
  6. "Exclusive Nick Stoller Interview". Collider.com. December 17, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  7. Faraci, Devin (July 29, 2008). "Spinning off from sarah marshall". Cinematic Happenings Under Development. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008.
  8. "Christina Aguilera Kissed Russell Brand?". Aguilerabuff.com. September 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  9. "Brand soaked in battle of Trafalgar". Metro. August 17, 2009.
  10. Kadri, Anisa (August 8, 2009). "Man 'pushes Russell Brand into fountain'". Digital Spy.
  11. ""Shrek" laughs its way past two new comedies". yahoo.com. June 6, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  12. "Get Him to the Greek (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  13. "Get Him to the Greek Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. Finke, Nikki (June 6, 2010). "JUNE GLOOM: 'Shrek 3D' #1 For 3rd Week; 'Get Him To The Greek' So-So; 'Killers' Weak; 'Marmaduke' And 'Splice' Stillborn". Deadline. both received only “B” Cinemascores. But the buzz on Greek was so much better than Killers
  15. Roger Ebert (June 2, 2010). "And then get him to rehab". Chicago Sun Times.
  16. Sharkey, Betsy (June 4, 2010). "Movie review: 'Get Him to the Greek'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  17. Carmon, Irin (August 3, 2011). "Once Again, Women Can Rape Men Too". Jezebel. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  18. Sowisdral, Alicia (June 15, 2010). "Get Him to the Greek". Elevate Difference. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  19. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1805463
  20. "Infant Sorrow Get Him to the Greek OST". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  21. Harding, Cortney (June 11, 2010). "Russell Brand Is A Man of Infant Sorrow". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
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