15 Movies Like Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fans Need To Watch Next

If you've ever gone through a really bad breakup, you probably love Jason Segel's pitch-perfect 2008 romantic comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Written by the "How I Met Your Mother" star and directed by his frequent collaborator Nicholas Stoller, the movie centers around Segel's composer and musician Peter Bretter, who's absolutely blindsided when his longtime girlfriend, the titular TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), abruptly breaks up with him; it doesn't help that he's completely nude during the breakup itself, but that whole situation definitely sets the tone for everything to come in this unbelievably sharp, funny film. Devastated, Peter decides to plan a solo getaway to Hawai'i only to encounter Sarah and her brand-new boyfriend at the resort — but thankfully, Peter strikes up a connection with the luxury resort's concierge Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), who helps him truly forget about Sarah.

So what should you watch next? We've got some suggestions. From other romantic comedies and movies starring Segel to funny and fraught love stories, here are 15 funny, sweet movies that pair perfectly with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Jason Segel starred in romantic comedies besides "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" as a romantic lead, and another standout is 2012's "The Five-Year Engagement," which also just so happens to be directed by Nicholas Stoller (who also produced and wrote the film). This time, Segel plays professional chef Tom Solomon, who is happily engaged to his long-time girlfriend — PhD candidate Violet Barnes, played by Emily Blunt — but right as they're about to get married, Violet's younger sister Suzie (Alison Brie) gets pregnant, and Tom's best friend Alex (Chris Pratt) is the father. In the wake of this, Violet and Tom postpone their wedding so Suzie and Alex can have the spotlight, and as we're sure you can gather from the title, this is far from the last time that the two put off getting married.

Between huge professional changes for both Violet and Tom, moves from California to Michigan and back again, and other massive life events, the two end up splitting before a wedding can even happen — and though they do get married at the end, we won't spoil how they get there. "The Five-Year Engagement" is another delight from Segel after "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Jason Segel appears in "Knocked Up," but he's not the lead this time; that honor belongs to Seth Rogen, who stars in Judd Apatow's 2007 comedy as Ben Stone, a guy who spends most of his time hanging out with his cadre of weird roommates (which includes Segel's singularly and appropriately named Jason) and coming up with increasingly absurd ideas to launch a website. After a one-night stand with aspiring E! anchor Alison Scott ("Grey's Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl), Alison tells Ben that she's pregnant, and against all odds, the two decide to keep the baby that came from this incredibly unlikely union. Aided by Ben's dumb but extraordinarily well-meaning roommates and Alison's sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) — as well as Debbie's husband Pete (Paul Rudd), who forms an instant bond with Ben — the two try to grapple with the idea of starting a family together.

Despite drama over Heigl's role as Alison — though that came later — "Knocked Up" remains a breezy, fun, and occasionally serious watch with a heartwarming ending. Just because it doesn't star Segel doesn't mean it's not a great counterpart to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

At its heart, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is an unlikely love story about two seemingly mismatched people ending up together ... and that's why if you love that movie, you should try 2015's "Trainwreck." Another Judd Apatow joint, this movie centers around Amy Schumer's willful and terminally single Amy Townsend, who spends her days working at a women's magazine and her nights partying and picking up men from bars. When she interviews sports doctor and orthopedic surgeon Aaron Connors (an unbelievably charming Bill Hader), sparks fly between them, and against her better judgment, Amy realizes she's falling for Aaron — and might have to behave like a grown-up in a real relationship, an inevitability she's been able to avoid for years.

Thanks to supporting performances from Vanessa Bayer, Mike Birbiglia, Colin Quinn, Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Brie Larson, and — yes, you're reading this right — actual NBA star LeBron James, "Trainwreck" succeeds, even though we've seen this story many times before. (No, seriously — James is great. Put him in more comedies!)

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" would likely be crass under different circumstances ... but in Judd Apatow's hands and with Steve Carell at the helm, this raunchy, raucous comedy is incredibly touching and treats its characters with genuine dignity while still letting them make mean jokes about each other. Carell's Andy Stitzer is introverted guy who works at an electronics store and keeps to himself, but after some of his coworkers — David (Paul Rudd), Cal (Seth Rogen), and Jay (Romany Malco) — discover he's a virgin at the age of 40 and decide to help him out. This goes wildly wrong several times, despite their best intentions (with perhaps the worst outcome being Andy's disastrous chest wax, which Carell endured in real life), but along the way, Andy finds his match in Trish Piedmont (Catherine Keener), a single mom who's pretty, sweet, and likes him back.

Again, a lesser director would have made Andy into a joke, but Apatow wisely paints him as a guy who kept missing opportunities to be intimate with someone — and who just wants to find love. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is a sweet movie, and it likely exists because of films like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

Another unlikely love story to pair with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is the underrated 2004 romantic comedy "Along Came Polly," which stars Ben Stiller as Reuben Feffer, an uptight guy who works (appropriately) in risk assessment for an insurance agency. After returning from his honeymoon where his wife cheated on him, Reuben is set to start over when he reunites with Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), his former middle school classmate who now lives a free-spirited life in New York City with her pet ferret. Despite the fact that Reuben is a ball of anxiety and Polly is all about new experiences, the two end up dating ... until their differences temporarily drive them apart.

"Along Came Polly" is a pleasant, funny flick that also happens to feature a particularly excellent supporting turn from the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman — as Reuben's reliable best friend Sanford "Sandy" Lyle — and it feels like yet another precursor to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Definitely don't hesitate like Reuben would, and add this one to your watchlist.

A relatively new entry to the rom-com canon, "People We Meet on Vacation" — based on the bestselling novel by romance queen Emily Henry — centers around Emily Bader's free-spirited Poppy Wright and her uptight best friend Alex Nilsen ("The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" star Tom Blyth), who agree to go on vacation together every single year after an ill-fated road trip ends up leading to a grand shared adventure. After one terrible trip to Tuscany with their partners at the time — Poppy's fellow jetsetter Trey ("Emily in Paris" standout Lucien Laviscount) and Alex's long-time on-again, off-again hometown girlfriend Sarah ("The White Lotus" Season 3 player Sarah Catherine Hook) — Alex and Poppy stop talking, but when an opportunity arises for Poppy to reunite with Alex at his brother's wedding in Barcelona, she takes an assignment (Poppy is a travel writer) and heads to Spain.

"People We Meet on Vacation" is adorable, and like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," it takes place in a beautiful location and features two phenomenal stars. Instead of Hawai'i, head to Barcelona with Alex and Poppy, and enjoy the right.

If you love Jason Segel but want to see him play someone completely different than his character in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," consider his 2009 buddy comedy "I Love You, Man." As Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) prepares to marry the girl of his dreams, Zooey Rice (Rashida Jones), he realizes something: he doesn't have a lot of male friends, and he's not entirely sure who should be a part of his wedding party. After trying and failing to bond with some of Zooey's friend's husbands — including the odious Barry McLean, played perfectly by Jon Favreau — Peter meets Sydney Fife (Segel) by chance, and the two become friends right away. Between attending Rush concerts and walking Sydney's puggle Anwar Sadat (yes, named for the former Egyptian president), Peter's relationship with Sydney starts to take over his life, and even threatens to derail his relationship with Zooey.

Like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "I Love You, Man" is funny, profound, and often profane — and thanks to supporting turns from actors like J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, and Andy Samberg, it's just a really great time. Don't skip this Segel favorite.

Written by Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon — and based entirely on their real-life love story — director Michael Showalter's "The Big Sick" is a rom-com with an absolutely enormous heart. As aspiring stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani (a lightly fictionalized version of his younger self) tries to deal with the fact that his strict Pakistani parents want him to marry a girl from their home country, he's heckled by Emily Gardner (Zoe Kazan), and despite that, the two end up dating. Emily abruptly ends things after being understandably freaked out to find pictures of various Pakistani-American girls in Kumail's apartment (they're pictures provided by his mother of potential brides, point in fact), and she ends things ... but when Kumail finds out that Emily is deathly ill in the hospital, he drops everything to be by her side.

Alongside Emily's parents Beth and Terry Gardner — played beautifully by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano — Kumail watches as Emily miraculously recovers from a near-death experience, and despite her hesitation, the two rekindle their romance. Like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "The Big Sick" is a lovely, funny, heartfelt movie all about second chances.

Looking for something like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," but hoping for an otherworldly element or twist? Give Max Barbakow's 2020 directorial debut "Palm Springs" a shot. When Sarah Wilder (an always welcome Cristin Milioti) heads to the desert paradise of Palm Springs for her sister Tala's ("Riverdale star Camila Mendes) wedding, she meets a weird guy named Nyles (Andy Samberg) at the reception ... only to wake up the next morning and find herself repeating the wedding day all over again. As Sarah eventually learns from Nyles, he's also stuck in this time loop — and rather than try to escape it by any means necessary, Nyles's approach is to chill out and just let it happen.

"Palm Springs" is eminently sweet, anchored by Milioti and Samberg's winning performances — as well as outstanding supporting turns from Meredith Hagner and, once again, J.K. Simmons — and it's one of the very best and most ambitious romantic comedies released in the 2020s. If you have "time," give this one a try.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" spends a lot of time with Peter while he's at his most devastated and lovelorn post-breakup as well as his journey of falling in love with Rachel, and if you loved those very real ups and downs, you'll love Marc Webb's 2009 romantic comedy "(500) Days of Summer." Told using a non-linear narrative, the audience drops in and out of the ups and downs of the relationship between greeting card writer Tom Hansen (a winning Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the woman of his dreams, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), whom he woos at a workplace karaoke night. Though they embark on a relationship, Summer is consistently insistent that she's not looking for anything serious, something Tom assiduously ignores until it's far too late.

Webb's ingenious way of presenting Tom and Summer's ultimately doomed relationship through amusing and even sad vignettes is brilliant, and in both this and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the male leads endure a broken heart ... and then meet someone new. "(500) Days of Summer" is a classic rom-com; if you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out.

Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and writer Dan Fogelman's 2011 romantic comedy "Crazy, Stupid, Love" checks a lot of the same boxes as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," in that a lovable but schlubby guy needs to try and find himself after a devastating split. When Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is blindsided by his wife Emily's (Julianne Moore) request for a divorce — related to her affair with her coworker David Lindhagen (Kevin Bacon) — Cal is left crushed until he meets womanizer Jacob Palmer, played rakishly and perfectly by Ryan Gosling. Though Cal is hesitant to learn how to be "a man" under Jacob's tutelage, he ends up thriving, much to Emily's dismay; meanwhile, Jacob meets a girl named Hannah (Emma Stone) at a bar and takes her home before realizing that she might be much more than a one-night stand.

Like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Crazy, Stupid, Love" is full of heart, offers redemption to its central sadsack, and is fresh, funny, and inventive (truly, that third-act twist is exceptional). Once you've finished forgetting Sarah Marshall, fall in crazy stupid love.

At its core, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is about what could have been — since we never really get to see Peter and Sarah together — and that's definitely the heart of the 2008 romantic comedy "Definitely, Maybe." As single dad Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) raises his 10-year-old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) in Manhattan amist a divorce from her mother Sarah, she asks him to tell her how the two met. Disguising Sarah's identity, Will tells three separate stories: one about his romance with Summer Hartley (Rachel Weisz), one about his relationship with Emily Jones (Elizabeth Banks), and one about the woman he once loved, April Hoffman (Isla Fisher) — as well as all the ways the stories intertwined. As Maya tries to guess which one is Sarah, which we won't spoil here, we delve further into Will's romantic past as he starts to consider his future.

"Definitely, Maybe" is bolstered by a truly sweet turn from Reynolds, who also happens to have great chemistry with Weisz, Fisher, and Banks alike, but you'll have to watch it for yourself to discover Sarah's real identity. Say yes to "Definitely, Maybe."

You might know writer-director Leslye Headland from the "Star Wars" show "The Acolyte," but you should definitely check out her 2015 romantic comedy "Sleeping with Other People," which is like an even dirtier and more heightened "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." After Lainey Dalton (Alison Brie) and Jake Harper (Jason Sudeikis) meet at Columbia University and lose their virginities to each other, they part ways for years before reuniting in Manhattan, and Lainey needs help; she can't stop sleeping with her married college crush Dr. Matthew Sobvechik (a hilariously droll Adam Scott). To try and curb her impulses, Jake and Lacy agree to be friends and help each other avoid disastrous romantic situations.

You can probably see where this is going: Jake and Lainey eventually fall in love, but the journey is the fun part, and watching Brie and Sudeikis play off of each other as two people who prioritize sex over love is absolutely delightful. Add in an awesome supporting cast that includes Jason Mantzoukas, Natasha Lyonne, Adam Brody, and Katherine Waterston, and you've got a great rom-com on your hands.

At first glance, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" doesn't seem to have much in common with Edgar Wright's beloved 2010 action comedy "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," but hear us out: can't you just envision Peter fighting seven evil exes for Rachel's heart?! Michael Cera plays our title character Scott, who's still smarting from his breakup with a girl named Natalie but has moved on and is dating a high schooler (not great!) named Knives Chao (Ellen Wong) while he practices with his band Sex Bob-omb. Everything changes, though, when Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party and wants to ask her out, only to learn that he has to defeat seven evil exes before he can date her.

Those exes are pretty formidable, including movie star Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), and the super-powerful record exec Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) — to say nothing of Scott's ex Natalie, a rockstar who now goes by Envy Adams (Brie Larson) and her new boyfriend Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), who also happens to be one of Ramona's exes. (Seriously, the cast of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is so stacked.) "Scott Pilgrim" is pretty out there and fantastical, but it pairs really well with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Loved Peter's one-of-a-kind Dracula musical in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall?" Great news! Jason Segel made a full-length puppet movie in 2011 — specifically, "The Muppet Movie," his heartfelt take on an original story featuring the characters we all know and love. Directed by James Bobin with a screenplay from Segel and Nicholas Stoller, "The Muppet Movie" centers around a Muppet named Walter (voiced by Peter Linz and played by "Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons in one song), who dreams of performing with Kermit the Frog and the actual Muppets. Aided by his human brother Gary (Segel) and Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), Walter travels from his and Gary's hometown of Smalltown — with Gary and Mary in tow — and heads to Los Angeles, only to learn that the Muppets are in danger of losing their performance venue and must raise $10 million.

With incredible original music (the song "Man or Muppet," penned by "Flight of the Conchords" star Bret McKenzie, won an Oscar) and a winning performance from Adams — who wishes Gary would propose and let Walter leave the nest a little bit — "The Muppets Movie" is both a perfect ode to this pop culture staple and a great new spin on old material, and worth a watch.