Friday, February 24, 2012

Wanderlust Review

Greetings Internet!  This will be short and sweet.

I enjoyed Wanderlust quite a bit.  The story follows New York couple George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) who end up losing their new micro loft/studio apartment (for financial reasons) and head for George's brother's (the always-hilarious Ken Marino) house in Atlanta.  On the way they stop at what they think is a B&B.  It turns out this is a commune for a myriad of stoners, musicians, nudists, and various manner of hippies.  Hilarity ensues.

Wanderlust is a very funny film.  A good bit of the humor comes from the traditional one-liners and witty dialogue between George and Linda and their new-found housemates.  The rest comes from the utterly awkward comedic moments that blossom between the couple and the hippies.  Uncomfortable doesn't even begin to properly describe most of the situations that play out on screen.  Its this off-beat sense of humor that makes Wanderlust a special comedy that hits on various comedic beats.  One of my favorite moments involves George delivering a hysterical monologue (about his manhood) into a mirror.  Its comedy gold; I haven't laughed this hard in a very long time.

The story is fairly predictable and plays out as anyone with a modicum of film-watching experience would expect.  That wasn't too much of a problem for me as the charisma of the two leads and their ridiculous situation overshadowed any story or plot issues.  The ensemble cast is fantastic; Justin Theroux's Seth is an asshole of a stoner that's trying to be the coolest dude on the planet.  Alan Alda is fantastic as always, despite having only a few scenes.  Several Mad TV alums make appearances and are as funny as they've always been.

If you enjoy comedies in the vein of Role Models, Step Brothers or most Judd Apatow-style comedies than I'm fairly certain you'll enjoy Wanderlust.  Its a rude, crude awkward comedy that reaches distinct moments of brilliant writing and comedy.  Rudd and Aniston have a great on-screen chemistry that comes through in their great performances.  I had a blast with Wanderlust.

A final note.  I'm somewhat of a continuity freak when I'm watching films.  I try my hardest to pick out moved objects or an actor's changed position.  There is one glaring continuity error involving George's car.  I don't want to spoil anything, so try to spot it for yourself.

Wanderlust is a fantastically funny film that will leave you satisfied in the end...even if you saw it coming a mile away.

The Bearded Bullet.

1 comments:

  1. Good write-up. Wanderlust is pretty uneven but there were actually many moments where I couldn’t stop but laugh at mainly because of this great cast. Let me also not forget to mention the one scene where it’s just Paul Rudd improving for about 3 minutes all by himself. That was definitely worth the price of admission. Check out my review when you get the chance.

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