Wanderlust

I had zero interest in seeing Wanderlust. Yes, I love me some Justin Thereoux. And, yes, Paul Rudd is adorable and awkwardly funny. Yes, I even love Jennifer Aniston who somehow manages to get hotter with age. But, the movie itself just seemed silly. Then it got an A- from Entertainment Weekly (who, obviously, I trust more than I should). Then a friend of mine said it was the funniest movie he's seen in years. So, my interest was peeked. Guess what? I should have stuck to my original gut feeling.

Wanderlust is about a yuppie New York couple (Aniston and Rudd) who work long hours and live in a tiny apartment and are addicted to coffee and cell phones. They think they've got it made. Then they both lose their jobs and they move from NYC to suburban Georgia, where they eventually find their way to a hippie commune where they struggle with their self-identity and experience with free love, blah, blah, blah. It's a meandering, unfunny, annoyingly trite film. And that's being nice.

The cast is the absolute only thing it has going for it. Aniston is charming and Rudd is endearing. Thereoux is a special kind of crazy as the de facto leader of the commune. The lovely and beautiful Lauren Ambrose (aka Claire Fisher from the criminally good Six Feet Under) is sweet and funny. Katharine Hahn all but steals the show. And Alan Alda even shows up! However, overall the movie just doesn't work. It takes a basic premise that is so silly and then adds silly jokes to make things even more ridiculous. There were maybe two parts where I actually found myself laughing but even that was more at the ridiculous nature of this film that took away part of my afternoon than anything else. So, basically, don't waste your time or your money. Stay home and watching something really funny - my newly discovered obsession with the funnier than should be legal It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I know, I'm like 8 seasons late but whatever).

Grade: D