Wanderlust; not quite wonderful...

Let me be clear from the beginning, I am not exactly Jennifer Aniston's biggest fan - (in fact,with the exception of "The Good Girl", back in 2002, I'm usually booing, internally, whenever she comes on screen) - I also, typically, avoid films starring Paul Rudd as I find them to be over-indulgent plays to the male ego with unbelievable male characters, vapid female ones and obviously plot development....however, I saw the trailer for "Wanderlust" some time ago and something about it made me hopeful, so this evening, my husband and I, went to see it...

I don't think I'm giving away too much by telling you that the story revolves around George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston), who, after losing their jobs, home and New York-lifestyle move to Atlanta to stay with George's brother. On the way they take the (obligatory) detour, which finds them spending the night at Elysium, a hippy commune by any other name, and of course hilarity ensues...or so the script writers hoped.

The film certainly boasts some colourful characters, and it's a joy to see Alan Alda back on the big screen, but for every laugh-out-loud moment there were at least two cringe-worthy ones...(I reference Paul Rudd's rant into the mirror in particular here.)

The plot followed the standard rules of the Rom-Com genre, with the usual suspects learning their lessons and getting us to the happy-ending we all seek from this type of film. The writers managed to skilfully avoid the pitfalls of  taking any political or serious standpoint on any of the issues raised within the film; the bad guy loses out and the hero & heroine go off into the sunset to live happily ever after...all-in-all "Wanderlust" delivered exactly what you'd expect...

UK rating: 15 

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Director: David Wain

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman

Rating: 3.5/5