Forgetting the Audience (and Sarah Marshall)

Joey Daoud

Joey Daoud is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. His past films have appeared on Netflix, The New York Times, and National Geographic. He is also a YouTube creator across multiple channels with videos garnering millions of views. In his free time, he likes to climb mountains, scuba dive, and brew unique coffees.

Forgetting the Audience (and Sarah Marshall) 1

I didn’t think much about wanting to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I keep seeing signs that maybe I should. Such as a 5-star review on the radio when I turn on the car, or Roeper’s undying love for this movie plastered in a full page New York Times ad.

So now I want to see it. Tonight. Here’s the thing, a bunch of people want to see it tomorrow morning, because it’s $8 tonight and $4 tomorrow before noon.

I’m all for matinées. I accumulated my 1300 Regal Crown Club points mostly from matinées, and I’d be fine seeing it tomorrow morning if one thing were different.

If Forgetting Sarah Marshall wasn’t a comedy.

Forgetting the Audience (and Sarah Marshall) 2

I strongly believe watching a comedy with a crowd makes the movie infinitely funnier. Wedding Crashers will never be as funny as the first time I watched it in a packed theater, with the big, loud guy in the front row with a huge five-second delayed laugh after every punch line.

Drama, thriller, action – yeah, that’s fine anytime, with anyone. But comedies need an audience.

Update: Justin agreed with my thoughts, and we went to see it. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more. And my crush on Mila Kunis has grown.

Photos by Thomas Hawk

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