Stars Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Malin Ackerman, Ken Marino, and Joe Lo Truglio. Directed by David Wain from a script by Wain and Ken Marino. Rated R. 98 minutes. Critic’s grade: C+
When, exactly, does “Wanderlust,” a half-baked comedy directed by David Wain (“Role Models”) go off the rails? It’s a multiple-choice question, unfortunately.
Is it when George (Paul Rudd), the ex-New York business guy now experimenting with life in a Southern commune called Elysium, stands in front of a mirror, trying to psych himself up to fully engage in the free-love lifestyle enjoyed by his new companions, after having been given permission to do so by his wife, Linda (Jennifer Aniston)? The interminable, clearly improvised sequence, while generating a few chuckles, isn’t nearly as riotous as Rudd apparently believes it to be. Or is it earlier, when the couple is forced to spend time at the Atlanta home of George’s brother Rick (Ken Marino, the movie’s co-screenwriter), the trash-talking, incredibly arrogant and off putting owner of a successful port-a-potty business, one of the least likable movie characters in recent history?
Is it during the sequence when Linda is fully engaged in a psychedelic experience, conveyed via some trippy, woozy visuals that look like they might have been left over from the ’60s (and not in a good way)? Or when she doffs her top — don’t worry, the star doesn’t actually reveal anything — as part of a protest against an evil corporation planning to take over Elysium’s land? Or perhaps the movie finally wanders off into unfunny silliness when you’ve heard the 99th variation on the name of the male sexual member?
“Wanderlust” starts off rather promisingly, as George’s job vanishes along with his law-breaking boss, and Linda, a sometime filmmaker, lands a pitch meeting with HBO, only to find that her proposed documentary on cancer-stricken penguins elicits little interest; the sequence offers some nice digs at the cable network’s reliance on fare featuring graphic violence and nudity. The two are forced to abandon their overpriced “micro-loft” in the West Village, and hit the road.
Enroute to Atlanta, a detour and freak accident lands the couple in Elysium, where they encounter a cavalcade of idealistic, nature-loving, meat-abstaining, often unclothed folks who revel in life at their “intentional community,” where personal privacy is disdained and sharing — of work, food, money, romantic partners — is the rule of the day.
The commune is led by Rick (Justin Theroux), a bearded, ultra-fit, guitar virtuoso whose words are deemed as gospel truth by those under his spell; in one of the film’s funniest running gags, he revels in talking about his asceticism runs to abstaining from all the latest electronic gadgets, a list he believes includes beepers, fax machines, and the Sony Walkman. Elysium’s other inhabitants include blonde beauty Eva (Malin Akerman), who seems to have a crush on Rick; village nudist, writer and wine maker Wayne (Joe Lo Truglio); and a talkative older fellow (Alan Alda), who co-founded the place, way back in 1971.
Pursuit of the American Dream is a potent theme in literature and film, sometimes brought to the big screen via stories featuring young couples taking to the road to search for that special something they simply haven’t found in their workaday existence, only to find that, you know, what they were looking for wasn’t “out there”; it was on the inside. Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty embodied such a pair of wanderers in Brooks’ very funny, even wise “Lost in America” (1985), while and “Away We Go” (2009), with Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski is a worthwhile recent example of the genre.
The quest taken by George and Linda in “Wanderlust,” co-produced by comedy impresario Judd Apatow, results in a raunchy, uneven entertainment, that, while benefiting from Rudd’s often superbly timed sarcastic remarks, never quite lives up to its comic potential.
