Movie Reviews

Wanderlust with Paul Rudd

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Written by Jonathan Jacobs

Married couple George (Rudd) and Linda (blue-eyed Aniston) have just made a colossally destructive financial decision. They have purchased a "Micro-Loft" apartment located on New York's prestigious West side. George wrestled with this choice but ultimately his wife wanted to move for social and work purposes thus he caved in as any man should. In his defense, at the time he was employed and raking in enough dough to bake cookies all night long. After some fast-forwarded clips involving their choice of where to place their couch and Murphy bed and tables in the 250 square foot micro-loft (this is intellectual double speak for tiny little studio apartment in the City) and having a party in the smallest space ever to host one, George receives some distressing news. He is now unemployed and verging on bankruptcy. Even worse, HBO does not appreciate Linda's documentary about the plight of suicidal penguins (who would have guessed HBO would pass on this gem?). Broke and forced to admit they are underwater on their new investment property, the troubled couple is forced to move from sunny New York and venture toward browner pastures in Atlanta. There awaits George's lecherous, loudmouth and cringe worthy brother Rick (Ken Marino). Rick is in the port-o-potty business and magnanimously offers his brother a job in accounting; one might call it a shitty job.

En route to their own personal hell, George and Linda need to stretch out their sea legs due to stir-craziness. This leads them to Elysium. This is a small hippy/vegan/partially nudist colony in the middle of Nowhere, GA. They are greeted by Wayne (Joe Lo Truglio). Wayne is a nudist with a massive yet gruesome looking unerect penis. After driving their car upside down in an attempt to escape the would be serial killer, our couple find themselves in the midst of a truly wild adventure.

At Elysium there are no doors and there is no privacy. Their policy is free love, veganism and earthiness of the kind that would make the Occupy Pick a Random City Movement proud. During their first night, as with any cult parlor trickery, the couple receive a warm welcome. They dance through the night, play instruments, imbibe plenty of booze and carouse with some fascinating people. When the night is over they have some wild memories from smoking peyote and are on their way to their extravagant brother's mansion.

After being laid off, having to move from their dream NYC shoebox and driving for 20 hours, Elysium seemed like paradise. What they find at Rick's is a marriage at its breaking point, an alcohol abusing wife (Michaela Watkins as Melissa), and some hardcore anger management issues emanating from Rick's mouth and fists. Broke and rather abandoned, the distressed couple chooses on a whim to retreat to Elysium for an adventure. This is where the movie begins in earnest. I will be as pithy as possible in describing the outcome. George finds the commune to be less than inspiring. He cannot defecate in solitude, the commune leader's wife Eva (Malin Akerman) relentless offers to lick his balls and to swallow his man juice. The commune leader himself (Justin Theroux as Seth) undermines him at every turn. Seth performs war-preventative dance maneuvers every day and plays the guitar flawlessly like a man destined to stroke a clitoris. More to the point, he lusts after George's wife with unparalleled zealotry. George grows ever-estranged while Linda becomes a card-carrying member of Elysium. For him it is a nightmare and for her a dream come true. The couple's marriage is fracturing.

Wanderlust is mostly funny, though it is at times unwatchable. Judd Apatow films have fascination with male nudity (specifically, dicks in the face). Paul Rudd is genius and his award-deserving "dicky mart" scene will have you laughing like a hyena before long. Jen Aniston seems to be exploring her inner comedian more and more with every movie to stay relevant. Her fiancé Justin Theroux works flawlessly with her to generate some disgusting sexual tension and peculiarity. Frankly, Wanderlust is 80% great and 20% unmercifully dreadful. At times the 20% seems on the verge of overwhelming the 80% but ultimately it does not. Watch with caution but enjoy every moment of it, when you are not vomitous.

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