Resort receptionist Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) and struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) in a romantic disaster comedy that explores one guy's quest to grow up and get over the heartbreak of being dumped. Glen Wilson / Universal Studios

So perhaps the rumors of Judd Apatow's demise were greatly exaggerated.

Following the disappointing performance of "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and the flop that was "Drillbit Taylor," Apatow is back in classic form with his latest film.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is yet another crowd-pleasing comedy like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" that will make you laugh and squirm -- usually at the same time. It has just the right balance of the salty and the sweet. It also signals an introduction of sorts to a couple of engaging talents.

Jason Segel, co-star of Apatow's "Knocked Up" and "Freaks and Geeks" and the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," settles comfortably into his first screenplay and first leading role. Drawing on his own experiences, Segel plays a big, lovable puppy dog of a guy who gets dumped when he's most vulnerable by his TV-star girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). His unabashed full-frontal nudity in this scene has been the stuff of legend for weeks before the film's opening; you do have to give him credit for showing such, um, confidence.

And then there's Russell Brand, a British stand-up comic who will probably be new to American audiences, but not for long. He runs away with this movie -- tough to do, since it's populated with big personalities -- as a preening rock star who is less vapid and more verbal than he initially appears. Segel has given Brand most of the wittiest lines. And because improvisation rules on an Apatow set, Brand and his castmates were free to bounce off each other with reckless abandon.

Under the direction of first-timer Nicholas Stoller, another collaborator from Apatow's "Undeclared" days, Segel stars as Peter Bretter, a genial but mostly unmotivated musician. He's the composer for the TV series "Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime," a dead-on takeoff on "CSI." Sarah, the show's glamorous star, has been Peter's girlfriend for the past six years, which has meant long nights of holding her purse at premieres while she answers reporters' questions on the red carpet.

Still, he's blinded by her fame and beauty, and remains hopelessly in love with her even after she shows up at his apartment and announces that she's leaving him for another man.

At the urging of his brother Brian (Bill Hader of "Saturday Night Live"), Peter jets off to Hawaii to get over Sarah, but instead ends up at the same resort where she just happens to be vacationing with her new boyfriend, Brand's lanky, leather-clad Lothario, Aldous Snow. Of all the island hotels, he walks into hers -- a bit of a contrivance, sure, but it sets up some hilariously painful situations.

Peter sucks back fruity drinks to numb the pain but still manages to run into Sarah and Aldous wherever he goes. Thankfully there's Rachel (Mila Kunis), the resort's friendly front-desk clerk, who helps Peter take his mind off his wrecked love life. She's spontaneous, natural and down-to-earth, with dark, gorgeous looks that are the complete opposite of the perky, blond Sarah's.

Christy Lemire / Associated Press