Less Than Wander-ful

Though its stay in theaters earlier this year was quite short, the comedy Wanderlust caught my attention enough to note it later for home viewing. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston star as a New York City couple forced by expenses to leave the city. They wind up trying out life in a commune they stumble on in Georgia, and hilarity ensues.

Well, maybe not hilarity. There are some great scenes in the movie, but also a lot of dead spots in which the short 90 minutes don't feel short enough. The truth is, if I'd really realized beforehand that it was from writer-director David Wain, the man behind Wet Hot American Summer, I probably would have passed.

But there is a solid cast here, giving it their best. Jennifer Aniston musters her patented charm to good effect (though her best recent performance I've seen was in Horrible Bosses). Lauren Ambrose and Justin Theroux (who were once both on Six Feet Under) both get a few good laughs as hippies in the commune. Ken Marino is pretty funny as an obnoxious, bullying brother of Paul Rudd's character.

The best performance of the film comes from Rudd himself, though. He has two scenes right at the core of the movie where he just goes on a clearly half-improvised, all-ridiculous roll of the worst "sexy talk" ever, anywhere, period. It's funny, then awkward to watch, then gross, then funny again, then almost painful to watch, then outright hilarious. It's almost worth recommending the film just to see these two ridiculous scenes.

Almost. Overall, the film is a pretty rote fish-out-of-water tale that plays every single beat you predict at the 15-minute mark will be coming later. The occasional moments of inspired lunacy that don't necessarily serve that well worn plot are the best parts, and there aren't quite enough of them. I'd call it a C+. You probably will get a few laughs if you do check it out, but I wouldn't expect the movie to make anyone's favorites list.