‘Wanderlust’ Review

Wanderlust is a hit and miss comedy; some of the jokes are great and funny and others fall flat. After losing both of their jobs George and Linda (Rudd and Aniston) go to live with George’s ass of a brother (Marino). On their way there they stay at a Bed n’ Breakfast called Elysium. It turns out Elysium is also basically a commune where hippies live. George and Linda enjoy their time there but agree to give George’s brothers place a try. After that doesn’t work they go back to Elysium and live there permanently. What ensues is your basic fish out of water gags that are hit and miss.

Paul Rudd is absolutely hilarious and easily the best part of the film. He just has great comedic timing and his straight man persona is great. Also Rudd has great improv skills that are especially evident in one scene where Rudd’s George is looking into a mirror and trying to get himself pumped up and ready to have sex with the beautiful Eva played by Malin Akerman. That scene had me dying laughing and if you have seen the movie you know what I’m talking about. As for Jennifer Aniston, I think she does okay nothing horrible but nothing great either. I think they just got her for the role because she is a popular actress (maybe that didn’t really work though because of the horrifying box office numbers this past weekend) but I didn’t think she was that funny.

Justin Theroux plays Seth who is basically the leader of Elysium (a Christ like figure especially with the scraggly beard and hair). Theroux is very hit and miss here as he has some moments to shine but wasn’t really developed well in a comedic sense. I found myself getting tired of the character. Alan Alda is very funny as Carvin who is the oldest member of Elysium and one of its founders. Alan Alda is a big scene stealer in this one in my opinion. There are also other supporting characters peppered throughout the film that add quite a few laughs. Though I found Ken Marino as George’s brother simply not funny. I don’t know if it was the way it was written or the actor himself, but I didn’t laugh when those scenes were on screen.

Overall “Wanderlust” is a little better than your average comedy, due in large part to Paul Rudd. If you are a Paul Rudd fan then I think you should check this movie out. It isn’t perfect but there are just enough laughs to make it enjoyable.

B-


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *