Forget Judd Apatow

I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall yesterday and I have to say that it was better than both Knocked Up and Superbad. It wasn't as funny as Superbad, but its plot was a little more clear. I would say that it tied with Superbad, because Sarah Marshall didn't even have a cameo from Michael Sera. After watching this movie, and letting it digest a little bit, I figured out what it is that I don't like about Judd Apatow. In his recent films his characters are almost totally un-relatable. The female star in Knocked Up was an up and coming E! news anchor, you know like a lot of people in this country are, and Sarah Marshall is a rising star in television. Seth Rogen's character in Knocked Up isn't about to become famous, but he is able to find a job instantly when its pretty obvious he has no qualifications. Sarah Marshall goes one step further. Jason Segel's character writes the music for the TV show Sarah Marshall is in. He is also a semi brilliant musician. These are not real people! Even the kids in Superbad are so different than the kids in Freaks in Geeks. Could you see Nick Andopolis stressing out about whether or not he got into Dartmouth? Probably not. One thing that makes Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, and 40 Year Old Virgin infinitely better than Apatow's last three movies is that the characters could be real people. One thing I've learned from fiction writing is that the author is in total control of developing his/her characters. There is no reason that a character has to be a movie star and not a waitress. That decision is totally the author's. Granted Apatow didn't write or direct Sarah Marshall, but all those guys have really let success go to their heads. They've forgotten how to create life like characters. Or at least they've gone away from using realistic characters as leads. In Knocked Up, as well as Sarah Marshall, there are a lot of supporting characters that are just normal people, but obviously they are not interesting enough to carry a film.