Wanderlust

Sudden Freedoms

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Rated: R Sexual content, graphic nudity, language and drug use.
Release Date: February 24, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

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Director:  David Wain

Writers: David Wain, Ken Marino
Cast:  Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Akerman, Ken Marino

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SYNOPSIS:  When George finds himself out of a job, he and his wife Linda must vacate their life in New York City to etch out a life under his brother's roof and employment in Atlanta. A simple twist of fate brings them to a voluntary community where they feel they can start fresh.

REVIEW: David Wain, director of Role Models and Wet Hot American Summer, returns to the big screen with a screenplay he wrote with Role Models co-writer and actor Ken Marino. Re-teaming with Paul Rudd, Wain and Marino bring forth a raunchy and fun romp based on repression and shedding of inhibitions.

New Yorkers George (Paul Rudd, Dinner for Schmucks) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses) try to make a living in the Big Apple, buying a small piece of real estate nearly beyond their employment means. When Linda's documentary is not picked up by HBO and George's job suddenly disappears due to an FBI investigation, they are forced to leave New York City altogether and head down to Atlanta to live with and work for George's brother Rick (Ken Marino, Role Models) and his wife Marissa (Michaela Watkins, Enlightened). On the way down to Atlanta, George and Linda unsuspectingly come across Elysium, a bed and breakfast that is actually a commune. They stay the night and have a wonderful time before packing up and making the final push to Atlanta. When George is pushed to the breaking point by his brother's sarcasm and success, he tells Linda to pack up again to head back to the voluntary community where they seems to find happiness for the first time in some time. But as they settle into the 'what's mine is your', free love community, George and Linda both have revelations about each of their lives and their relationship together.

Wanderlust is a raunchy romp in the spirit of films you come to expect from Rudd, Wain and Marino projects. Filled with full frontal nudity and references to what is on display 'down there', Wanderlust still has plenty of laughs and nervous interactions between Rudd's George, Aniston's Linda, and a menagerie of characters that truly flesh out the silliness of the story. Self proclaimed non-hippie Seth (Justin Theroux, Your Highness) leads the pack with his quasi-mystical ways, enamoring Linda and off-putting George. Carvin (Alan Alda, Tower Heist) owns the Elysium but can't find the deed to the place. Sexy and free-loving Eva (Malin Akerman, The Proposal) enjoys life and hopes to share some of her free-loving with George. Rounding out the cast is Kathy (Kerri Kenney, Reno: 911!) as the hippie-dippy matriarch, ex-porn actress and current earthy hempstress Karen (Kathryn Hahn, Our Idiot Brother), pregnant Almond (Lauren Ambrose, Where the Wild Things Are) and her super laid back partner Rodney (Jordan Peele, Little Fockers), and nudist wine-maker aspiring writer Wayne (Joe Lo Truglio, Paul).

Not taking itself too seriously Wain brings plenty of hilarious bits to the screen, including a acoustic guitar Spin Doctors showdown between George and Seth, and a pep talk between George, a mirror and the topic of 'doing it'. Rudd has great comic timing as the frustrated straight-man. Alda still has his Hawkeye Pierce M*A*S*H chops as he moves around in a Rascal. And Aniston, with years of Friends under her belt, brings radiance, beauty and her own sweetness to the mix.

Through all of the silliness, there is a more serious undertone trying to harsh the hazy buzz. George and Linda struggle with the repressed issues of their relationship. Attorneys for a casino look to break ground on the commune property and scatter the residents to the four winds. Seth looks to assert his alpha maleness over Linda, with or without George's permission. And George and Linda deal with how they can create a productive and positive experience at the voluntary community.

Wanderlust takes advantage of the creative juices that most of the cast bring to set. Some scenes make the entire film worthwhile, making you giggle long after the scene in over. The story is light, but also suffers from a lack of closure on a couple of subplots, especially between Rick and Marissa, and between George and Rick.

Funny and silly, and filled with quirky characters and strange happenings that make outsiders like George and Linda wonder why they continue to make the decisions they do, Wanderlust entertains. Keep in mind that the full frontal nudity may shock more sensitive viewers, but barring extra appendages in one's face, you will surely get a rise out of this comedy.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Tower Heist

A Heist Gone Wrong

Director: Brett Ratner

Writers: Ted Griffin, Jeff Nathanson, Adam Cooper, Bill Collage
Cast: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe

SYNOPSIS: After a wealthy business man of a New York luxury high-rise apartment is caught embezzling money in a Ponzi scheme, the residents and employees of the apartment building, realizing their retirement investment is gone, draw up a plan to steal a secret stash from his penthouse home.

REVIEW: Brett Ratner, director of the Rush Hour films and The Family Man, jumps behind the camera to helm the new Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy heist film. Written by the collective group of storytellers Ted Griffin (Matchstick Men), Jeff Nathanson (The Terminal), and Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Accepted), Tower Heist looks like it could rise to new heights as a funny buddy cop...er, buddy criminal comedy.

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller - Night At The Museum) is the general manager of the Tower, an up-scale luxury high rise apartment building in Manhattan, New York, tasked with handling the staff, the operations of the building, and the comforts and whims of the tenants. One of the most powerful, influential, and wealthy residents living in the penthouse, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda - M*A*S*H), is accused of a Ponzi scheme affecting thousands of clients and their money, as well as the retirement savings of the Tower's staff. Shaw is placed under house arrest in his penthouse apartment by a team of FBI agents led by Special Agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni - The Family Man). Josh, feeling responsible for asking Shaw to invest the staff's money, goes up to the penthouse to confront the financier. When things get out of hand during his visit, Josh and some of the other staff are summarily fired by their boss, Mr. Simon (Judd Hirsch - Taxi). Looking to make thing right with everyone on staff who lost their retirement and life savings, Josh enlists the help of fired soon-to-be-father concierge Charlie (Casey Affleck - Ocean's Eleven), divorced ex-Wall Street trader soon-to-be-evicted Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick - The Producers), and newly hired, newly fired elevator operator Enrique Dev'Reaux (Michael Peña - The Shooter). Realizing that he is going to need more than coworkers and former tenants, Josh bails out an actual thief, Slide (Eddie Murphy - Shrek), from jail to add some expertise and training to the men in his crew and to the his plans. Rounding out the crew is maid Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe - Precious) with a perchance for lock-picking.

Part Rush Hour and part Ocean's Eleven, Tower Heist is true to its namesake. Shaw stands accused, nestled into the cushy confines of his house-arrest penthouse and the rumor of $20 million stashed in Shaw's apartment leads Josh and his amateur crew of criminals to take on a plan that none of them are trained or capable of pulling off. Stiller plays the Meet the Parents straight man, but without the manic ticks and jitters. Eddie Murphy comes along as the elder version of Trading Places Billy Ray Valentine, with less laughs and more swearing. Broderick is defeated, Peña is clueless, Affleck looks like he strolled out of Ocean's Eleven, Alda plays it so cool his guilt is truly unknown, and Leoni, in spite of her pert nose and shining eyes, adds a tough exterior to go along with her federal badge.

In Tower Heist, the journey should be a fun, crazy ride, with the best parts are shown in the trailers. With high hopes for more funny hijinks, disappointment abounds with lackluster laughs and a watered down Ocean's Eleven-style heist plan. Stiller is too serious, and Murphy is too hardened and brazen. There are some funny parts, and a decent twist at the end, but the end result is a film that falls short on laughs and intrigue. Once the credits start scrolling, you may feel like there was a heist... on your wallet.

WORTH: Rental