2012: The Year in Film: "Wanderlust" Review

So the Judd Apatow family of comedies is pretty much responsible for 44% of all comedies today (that's an official, verified statistic). David Wain (who directed Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models) has been around the comedy game for quite a while as well.. and writes and directs this one, which stars many familiar faces of the Apatow crowd. Paul Rudd (who's pretty much secured his position as your go-to "straight man"), Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Ackerman, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio and Kathryn Hahn all star.

So after living the NYC ratrace, George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston), find themselves unemployed and unable to afford their tiny, ridiculously overpriced Manhattan apartment. They head to George's brothers' house in Atlanta, where his dickhead of a brother runs a company and has offered George a job. Along the way they happen across a Bed and Breakfast, Elysium, that happens to be a hippie commune.. and the lifestyle happens to appeal to them, so they decide to stick around. Let's be honest, the strength of this one isn't the plot. This is an extremely funny, extremely broad comedy, with some great moments and strong characters, but the plot is thin to say the least. Needless to say, the hippie lifestyle isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but certainly offers some lessons for our intrepid protagonists.



The cast is the strength here. You can tell that the actors involved had a blast making this movie, and there are tons of hilarious interactions and brief scenes that offer some good, hard laughs. Theroux, Alda, Marino, Truglio and Jordan Peele are all hilarious in bits. There are some off the wall stereotypically hippie bits that are quite funny, but ultimately the film is at its best when treating these people as individuals rather than stereotypes. There are some great moments in this film, and I laughed hard several times. However, ultimately, the plot is just too broad and nondescript for it to take the next step from "funny" movie to "good" movie like some of the stronger entrants in the Apatow family. In addition, Rudd and Aniston simply don't have enough chemistry to make a believable couple. But all in all, it's well worth a watch, and probably rewarding of multiple viewings.

7/10.