FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL/BRAND STICKS OUT

There is the phrase: a role he was meant to play. In comic Russell Brand’s case, they re-wrote the role to give him a breakthrough turn.

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Brand is by no means alone in sparkling in this relentlessly fresh comedy, which comes from the funny factory behind Knocked Up and Superbad, headed by Judd Apatow

This pedigree alone would suggest that FSM would be above average watchable.

But it far exceeds expectations, with a sharper storyline and fewer troublesome distractions (such as prolonged virginity, unexpected pregnancy, drugs and so on) than its predecessors.

Written by and starring, Jason Segel, one of the top stoners in Knocked Up, it benefits from a single sunlight location, Hawaii, and a tight package of two couples.

Not two happy couples, naturally. Rather one very unhappy chappy who arrives on the island for a solo holiday to recover from a recent breakup, only to discover that his ex is there with her new beau, rocker Brand (pictured, above, with said ex), driving him into the arms of a lovely local girl, which inevitably attracts the jealous attention of his ex.

Surely anyone could make humour out of that set-up.

But the highlight is often the irascible Brand in a role that might have been written for him, as indeed it largely was.

To quote the producers, "When he came in for his audition, we didn’t know what to make of Brand. He arrived in his normal fare of leather pants, complete with several belts strapped about his waist, teased up and ratty long hair, and black eyeliner." Quelle surprise!

"None of the crew was familiar with Brand’s work" – which might have cued a tantrum if Brand was a prima donna, but apparently he was politesse itself and, accepting his anonymity, he merely said, 'You’ll have to forgive me, I have only had the chance to take a cursory glance at your script. Perhaps you should tell me what you require?'."

"And all I kept thinking was ‘that takes balls, man!"

Of course, it helped that even to the uninitiated, Brand was "oozing with undeniable sexual energy and rock star good looks".

Director Nicholas Stoller told the actor to be loose with the script, improvising whenever he wished.

Was Brand frightened by this departure? Do bears live in the forest?

As he notes for newcomers : "When I do stand-up comedy shows, I improvise generally for the first hour and it keeps things very organic and fresh. I felt very comfortable with this improvisational vibe on set."

Stoller says, "Brand was comfortable with the comedy improv, right from the go. When he began to speak it was literally the funniest riff I have heard and I realized he was the dude. We did a complete rewrite for him."

A complete rewrite? Oh, really! Now what exactly does that mean?

Recalls Apatow: "We tailored the part to who he is. His natural flamboyant. We turned his character into a rock star, because he looks so good in leather pants."

Brand’s co-star Segel sums up, without no sense of exaggeration: "Russell was the find of the century."

So much for petty rivalries in this troupe.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall opens April 25, 2008.