I wonder how many people are uncomfortable with Judd Apatow's surprising strangle hold on comedy these days. Though he's only directed three films so far - he's written or produced just about every successful comedy of the last decade, or so it seems. Apatow's presence is felt in just about every good comedy that comes around.

Get Him to the Greek is, in a way, a bold extension of Apatow's empire (he produced the film). It's a sequel. Depending on its success, it could open the door on countless other charming secondary characters in the Apatow universe. And you know what? It works.

Russell Brand reprises Aldous Snow, his scene-stealing rock star from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. If you'll recall, Aldous was several years sober in that movie. Catching up with him now, he's not so much fallen off the wagon, as leapt screaming from its twisted and burning wreckage. His abandonment of sobriety comes hot on the heels him releasing the most universally reviled single ever created, "African Child." The song is said to be the worst thing to happen to Africa since Apartheid.

Meanwhile, we meet Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), a naïve, funny, but painfully sincere intern at a record company. He is the world's biggest fan of Aldous Snow and his band, Infant Sorrow. In an attempt to jumpstart the withering music industry, he gets the idea to stage a 10-year anniversary concert in honor of Infant Sorrow's monumental Live at the Greek album. So, he is dispatched by his boss (the surprisingly funny Sean Combs, aka P-Diddy) to London to retrieve Aldous and get him to LA in time for the concert - which is three days away.

This is when shit begins - and never ceases - to hit the fan. Aldous never seems to be without a drink or some kind of drug. Aaron, as Aldous' biggest fan, can't quite ever say no to him, and so begins their nightmarish three-day bender as they travel from London to New York to Las Vegas to Los Angeles, never sober save for when they're sleeping - and probably not even then.

Along the way, Aldous and Aaron refrain from having the kind of soul-searching moment of realization road movies are made for. It feels so much different than the usual Apatow vehicle which, while occasionally gross and frequently vulgar, always has an undercurrent of heart and affection. Not until the end, when things take an unexpectedly dark turn, do Aldous' real issues come into sharp focus.

Get Him to the Greek is driven by the likeability of its two stars, Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Having seen Hill be funny and affable in movie after movie, the real surprise is Brand. Carrying this absurd character through several scenes in Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one thing, but to make him the driving force of a movie must have been no small task. That he makes Aldous Snow's drug addiction seem both real and funny is quite an accomplishment. It appears that Russell Brand will be taking the title role in the remake of Arthur. Having seen Get Him to the Greek, that casting choice doesn't seem quite so crazy.

A couple quick thoughts: Very little of what appears in the trailer for Get Him to the Greek is actually in the movie. A smart tactic to avoid spoiling the funniest scenes, or a tantalizing glimpse into an alternate universe version of a movie made up entirely of deleted scenes? Probably both.

Aaron Green's girlfriend (Elisabeth Moss from Mad Men) is a nurse offered a residency in far away Seattle. When she tells Aaron she will be working at "East Seattle General," the audience at my screening loudly scoffed. Their apparent message: "Quit making stuff up, fictional movie people!"

Finally, it must be acknowledged that Jonah Hill also had a part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall as Aldous Snow's biggest fan. The weird thing is, it's not Aaron Green. Rather, it's some waiter at a resort in Hawaii, and Aldous Snow never seems to put this together. We can assume, though, because Sarah Marshall makes an appearance in GHTTG, that this movie exists in the same reality as the earlier film.

So it's a good thing that Aaron's girlfriend didn't get a job in Hawaii, otherwise he'd be forced to confront his doppelganger and possibly punch a hole in the Apatow universe. - THREE STARS