Wanderlust Review: Solid Oddball Fare Which Could Have Been Better
Thoroughly hit-and-miss, Wanderlust nevertheless entertains as a rambunctious oddity with a cracking supporting line-up.
rating: 3
Writer-director David Wain follows up his uproarious big-break Role Models with Wanderlust, reuniting him with star Paul Rudd for a comedy-of-weird which should hit the funny bone more often, yet is just about worthy enough as a quirky existential yarn. Rudd and Jennifer Aniston play George and Linda, a suburban New York couple whose lives are promptly turned on their heads once George loses his job and Lindas prospects as a filmmaker fall through. As they pack up shop and drive to a bed and breakfast for the night, they soon discover that it is in fact a hippie commune called Elysium, where they are lured in by a carefree lifestyle in which everything and I mean everything is shared. Writer Wain certainly gets points this time around for making a more current and wholly relatable tale given the still-fresh sting of the recessions impact. However, where Wanderlust falls short primarily is with its structure; once George and Linda arrive at the commune, they promptly leave and decide to live with Georges successful but arrogant brother, Rick (Ken Marino). It isnt long before they find Ricks antics too insulting to bear and return to the commune, but its a long, drawn-out rigmarole which could have been re-arranged for maximum punchiness. Why not have them go straight to the brothers home, find him annoying, then look for a B&B and chance upon the commune? Instead, it feels unnecessarily distended.
Once they arrive at the commune for good, the film settles into a comfortable comic mode of juxtaposing the careless, often weird openness with which the hippies live alongside George and Lindas own vacuum-sealed, meticulously pored-over existence. Its the supporting work and litany of cameos that really make this work, though; Justin Theroux is well-cast as Seth, the sleaze-ball de facto leader of the commune who wants to partake in free love with Linda, while the likes of Alan Alda (the Acid-addled founder of the camp), Lauren Ambrose (a bizarre pregnant woman), Malin
kerman (an extremely attractive woman who pines for George), and Kathryn Hahn (simply an outright nutter) are natural fits as the more eccentric residents living there. Particular mention should go to Joe Lo Truglio who has by now cameoed in just about every single Judd Apatow-produced film going and here finally earns a more significant role as a nudist with unexpected aspirations of writing political intrigue novels. It would be difficult to describe Wanderlust as a laugh riot, and its certainly not as funny as Wains Role Models, but it does mine its inherent strangeness for a good number of chuckles, while not getting too bogged down or preachy with its dramatic concerns. Theres not an unpredictable beat here in the romantic stakes, and a darker, more daring climax could have been more compelling, but as a pragmatic middle-brow comedy of two distinct living styles, it just manages to work. 
That said, the story is scant at best; a sub-plot involving a land developer who wants to turn the commune into a casino feels padded beyond belief, and the will-they-wont-they of the romantic arc isnt interesting or fresh enough to really garner much interest. Still, when it seems inches away from being tiresome, Wain inserts a silly gag or has a daft supporting character pop-up, such that things move along swiftly enough for the brief 98-minute runtime. Aniston, placing herself in another agreeably bewildering comic offering following her sublime work in Horrible Bosses, might be changing the tide of her career for the better, while Rudd, a perfectly-placed everyman, again reminds us why he makes such a watchable leading male. Here, their dynamic is frankly less about chemistry and more about conflict; the relationship is put-upon and strained through most of the film, and while it doesnt arrive at a particularly fresh or honest conclusion, Wain does a serviceable job of making you root for the pair. Thoroughly hit-and-miss, Wanderlust nevertheless entertains as a rambunctious oddity with a cracking supporting line-up. 
Wanderlust is out now in the US and hits UK Cinemas on Friday.