Good people living with hippies with no intelligent thoughts or humour.
| George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) are practical and realistic people in love. They can’t afford to live in New York City anymore so they are off to Atlanta. On the way they run into some hippies, their first instinct is to run away. Unfortunately, George’s brother-in-law is an inappropriate asshole so they are back to the hippie commune, even though first instincts are always right. | | 2012
Directed by: David Wain
Screenplay by: David Wain and Ken Marino
Starring: Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston |
The first of many problems is the title. Wanderlust means an innate desire to live on the road, to be always travelling, never staying, and for no real reason. Hence, lusting for wandering – wanderlust. George and Linda leave New York City out of necessity and travel (basically straight) to the hippie commune. They are not wanderers. The hippies live in a home that they own. They never leave and they never want to. They are not wanderers. The producers just wanted a catchy title and money. I do not like that.
I do like Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston. A lot. I did laugh at Rudd’s occasional moments of physical comedy, but that was it. The rest of the movie was lame sex jokes. Remember this was produced by Judd Apatow but it was not written or directed by him. It was missing a touch of sophistication and consistency to the characters and a level of human understanding and empathy. This was movie was brought to you by some guys who watched a Judd Apatow movie and then while smoking pot liked the idea of free love, man.
I don’t like hippies, although I can tolerate the harmless kind. These hippies weren’t real hippies, they were all just a conglomeration of all the various stereotypes. Which is too bad because I like Kathryn Hahn and she can play a hippie (see Our Idiot Brother). This hippie commune is populated with a leader who says it’s not a commune but an “intentional community” because when we say commune it makes people think of hippies sitting around smoking pot and playing guitar. Don’t worry Rudd just looks at him with his sarcastic smirk (as I said, he was the good part). The other good part, which proves how poorly this was made, was Alan Alda’s character. He bought the place in 1971 with 9 other people all with the false hippie ideals of nature, sharing and free love. What we don’t see enough of is how he is no longer a hippie. If they wanted to add an intelligent thought to the movie, or some good acting, they could have done it there.
I guess I’m going to have to settle for Rudd and Aniston’s previous collaboration “The Object of My Affection” which even after countless of viewings is funnier than “Wanderlust”. |
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