Russell Brand doesn't need to act in his movies; he can just play the same outrageous, outspoken, fuck-it-all guy that he is in real life. It doesn't seem fair; when you're making millions of dollars, I think there should be some rule that you have to work for it even if it means making an effort to act.
In Get Him to the Greek, Russell Brand once again gives us the impression that he's playing a version of himself by being a self-centered rock star (Aldous Snow) who just wants to have mischievous fun. Jonah Hill (Aaron Green) is the lowly talent scout who must escort Aldous from England to the United States so that Aldous can sing at the Greek theater, an open air concert venue located in Los Angeles. Surprise, surprise, nothing goes according to plan. Aldous is more interested in girls and blow and has no interest in time or schedules and Aaron plays the straight man who wants to please his demanding boss and his more demanding girlfriend. It's a good set-up (albeit an artificial one) and there are some good laughs mostly at the expense of Aaron who is way outta his league with the sexrockandroll lifestyle of Aldous Snow.
The Greek Theater is an actual theater that is located in Griffith Park. It is open from the early spring to the late fall and hosts a wide variety of acts including (for this year) Peter Frampton, George Thoroughgood, Yes, Styx, The GooGoo Dolls and Janet Jackson. I wanted to go see something at the Greek this year and on a complete whim, I chose to go see Youssou N'Dour.
Never heard of him? Me neither but apparently he is a famous singer from Senegal, Africa and his website is www.youssou.com. I bought my ticket on Ticketmaster (have I told you how much I hate Ticketmaster for their ridiculous service fees?) and waited for the day.
On June 16th, I drove down to the neighborhood just below Griffith Park. I was trying to save some money by not parking in the concert lot so I parked at the bottom of the hill and decided to walk up to the theater.
If you do go to the Greek, this is a good walk to do and you save $15 in parking fees. The neighborhood looks beautiful, filled with old trees and houses and even though you are walking up an incline, it doesn't seem that bad if you're in half-decent shape.
I've been to a party at the house in the picture below. In fact, it was for a dog's birthday party and I brought Dusty, my 15 year old (at the time) Pekingese.
After I was told that it was a "dog friendly" house, I let Dusty wander off while I met some of the other guests. I took a break from the socializing and walked outside to the infinity pool in the backyard. It was a beautiful pool but I was shocked to find a large rat swimming in the middle of it. On closer inspection, I realized it was my freakin' dog. My blind, deaf, arthritic, kidney insufficient, enlarged heart, never-swam-in-his-life dog. I ran over to him and with the help of the party host, we fished him out of the water. He was terrified but thankfully still alive and we calmed him down and warmed him up over the following hour.
This really wasn't a dog friendly house. There was an open fireplace too where Dusty could have wandered and set himself on fire. I suppose the near-drowning was better than a near-cremation. I don't entirely blame the house; Dusty never played with a full deck. In fact, most of the time, he was playing with just a couple of cards and even those cards had been shuffled a few too many times.
Another house along Vermont Avenue. In my dreams, I have a house like this.
After about twenty minutes, I was standing at the gates to Griffith Park. And a minute later ...
I arrived at the Greek!
The Greek Theater is an amphitheater with about 6000 seats and was built in 1929. I assume it's called the Greek due to its architecture which resembles a Greek palace.
When I first arrived, the venue was almost empty. It was time to play on my phone, eavesdrop on conversations and check out the type of people who came to see a concert with a headliner called Youssou N'Dour.
After opening act, a fantastic artist called Angelique Kidjo played. Her voice and her energy were amazing. She got everyone up dancing and welcomed a bunch of extroverts to the stage who proceeded to shake their booties to the beat of the African drums.
After Angelique came Youssou. His voice was clear and powerful and I was very impressed by the acoustics of the Greek. Most of his songs had a Reggae beat and the adoring crowd sang along in ... well, whatever people in Senegal speak. Wait, wait, I'll look it up so we all know ...
French? I don't think that was french. There are others ...
Maybe he was singing in Wolof. I hope that's not insulting to him. Maybe he was singing in English and I just didn't understand the accent.
It was a great night. Hugely enjoyable. The music was fantastic and the surroundings were beautiful. If you are visiting Los Angeles, a concert at this venue should be high on your must-do list.
Bring your coat. Even in June, it got a little cold.
**SPOILER ALERT**
In Get Him to the Greek, Aldous Snow does get to the Greek but you already suspected that right? He plays his amazing concert (despite a broken arm) and that big empty space in his heart is replaced by the love of his adoring fans. As for Aaron, he goes back to his girlfriend and tries to find some sort of love there. It was all good and for this much fun, I give the movie as well the concert an A (alpha) plus.
HOW TO GET THERE: The Greek Theater is located at 2700 North Vermont Avenue which is at the south side of Griffith Park. My advice is to park at the corner of Hillhurst and Los Feliz and walk north along Vermont Avenue. Otherwise, pay $15 and suffer the fate of stacked parking.
WORTH THE TREK?: 10/10 Absolutely. Pick a great concert and you'll be in heaven. Try to buy the tickets directly from the box office and save yourself those nasty Ticketmaster fees.
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