Heartbroken by the tumultuous end of his relationship with TV actor Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), Peter (Jason Segel) follows his ex to Hawaii on a tropical vacation. Seeking advice from hotel guests and staff alike Peter tries to win back his love’s affection, but is derailed when he runs into Rachel (Mila Kunis), a bartender who moved to the island to escape her problems and live in the moment. Their meeting prompts a will-they-won’t-they between Peter, Rachel, and Sarah, as Peter explores whether he can rekindle his old flame while preserving his self-respect, or open his heart to something new. This week we watched a Judd Apatow classic, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).

Forgetting Sarah Marshall falls into a certain category of movie I heard about all the time in high school. It’s a popcorn movie, the sort of thing one would watch on a Friday, the precursor or capstone to a fun night with friends. The humor in this comedy pushes the envelope of what was socially acceptable at the time, but despite how raunchy it can be, it’s relatively safe by current standards. This is the kind of movie one might expect to see on cable TV when taking a sick day from school, and unfortunately that puts a low ceiling on how provocative or interesting this movie can be.

The impressive cast is what makes this movie hold up. Jason Segel takes center stage as the star and writer, but costars include Paul Rudd, Russel Brand, Bill Hader, Jack McBrayer and Jonah Hill. Many of these cast members went on to have impressive film careers if they weren’t already thriving, so it’s fun to see them all in one place. The jokes end up being somewhat hit and miss. I had a lot of fun in scenes with Paul Rudd’s character, but other scenes felt like they were going through the motions, and didn’t feel strongly motivated. Personally, I’ve never really appreciated rom-com’s much, and I think that inhibited my view here. Movies like this are a comfort food, but they fail to engage me when it feels like the structure is the justification for a scene rather than character drama.

The clearest example of this are the scenes between Segel and Kunis. Both are good actors in their own right, but they have no on-screen chemistry in this, I just don’t believe they like each other, and if we don’t have that, we don’t have a movie. The jokes were enough to carry me from scene to scene (along with the commentary from my friends), but the romance in this movie strangely always feels off-key. There’s something very reserved and frigid about the sparks on display here, even jumping into the ocean reads less as spontaneity and more as boredom.

Part of what I think makes this film less engaging is the unimpressive cinematography. Everything is very straightforward, there isn’t a lot of creativity when it comes to interesting shots. Russ T. Alsobrook was the director of cinematography on Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and his previous credits reveal the DNA that the movie has in its visual presentation: Alsobrook had primarily shot for TV at this point in his career. Notably, he worked on Freaks and Geeks, where he likely met Segel, and Lizzie MacGuire. With mostly TV movies under his belt, it follows that his instincts led him to shoot static shots more befitting a TV show. It’s very competent cinematography, but it it’s boring.

In an interview, Judd Apatow later said that Forgetting Sarah Marshall was connected to Get Him to the Greek (2010), another comedy in which Russell Brand reprises his role as Aldus Snow. Strangely, Jonah Hill, who costars in Get Him to the Greek plays a different character than the one he plays in this movie, leading me to believe that Apatow decided that during the interview. A lot of this movie feels like it was made off the cuff, so maybe that kind of decision making wasn’t uncommon on set.

I hope this review hasn’t come across as bitter, Forgetting Sarah Marshall just doesn’t hold up to me. It’s a competently made movie, but ironically, it’s very forgettable. Movies like this don’t feel like they have much vision, perhaps in part because it was recut in the home release, which boasts an additional six minutes of unrated content. I don’t know what a romantic comedy has to do to leave more of an impression with me, be it having more quotable characters, or iconic set pieces, or even a more memorable score. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the perfect movie to show an audience of more than nine people if you’ve never met them; it’s a wide net and because it isn’t saying much, it’s not going to offend many people. But if you’re asking me personally, this is one watch that will likely be soon forgotten.