Hatchet reporter Chelsea Huang shares her latest movie experience.
“Wanderlust” (2012)
“Wanderlust” follows the story of a New York City couple, who find themselves in a rural hippy commune after unemployment forces them out of their West Village micro-loft. George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) embark for George’s crass older brother’s house in Atlanta after he offers them a temporary place to stay and work.
On the drive down, they stumble upon a bed and breakfast in the clothing-optional, free love community Elysium. Exhausted by their uptight urban lifestyle and fed up with George’s arrogant and insufferable older brother (co-writer Ken Marino), the couple decides to stay for two weeks as they consider the alternative, freewheeling community as a viable permanent home.
The contrast between the lifestyles of George’s older brother and those in the commune is transparent. Elysium’s community of hippies teaches George and Linda the importance of truth, trust and love, while George’s brother, successful from his porta-potty rental business, shows them the vices of material wealth.
The characters are caricatured and stereotypical – the hippies portrayed with hallucinogenic tea and truth circles, and George’s brother with a shiny black escalade and a superiority complex.
The jokes are at times tired and gimmicky, but the talented cast makes up for this with a variety of smart improvisations. The result is fresh, absurd and absolutely hysterical. Paul Rudd, who coincidentally played a naïve hippy in this summer’s “Our Idiot Brother,” puts his comedic background to good use throughout the film. In arguably the most memorable, albeit uncomfortably prolonged scene, Rudd prepares for a sexual encounter by practicing his dirty talk in a bathroom mirror.
The total experience can be summed up as overheard from a fellow appreciative moviegoer: “What was that?” It is absolutely ridiculous and out of this world, yet grounded in the reality of finding your way through life. The result is a hilarious, easily digested film.
Genre: Comedy
Director: David Wein
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Ken Marino
Release Date: Feb. 24
