Look no further than the nearest theater playing "Wanderlust" for your comedy fix this weekend. Re-teaming the guys behind "Role Models," this new venture is a laugh-out-loud mix of sharp humor, over-the-top parodies and – naturally – awkward full-frontal nudity.
"Wanderlust" opens with husband-and-wife duo George (Paul Rudd) and Linda (Jennifer Aniston) still struggling with the hectic lives they've convinced themselves they need to have to feel like they've "made it." In short order, both end up out of work and are forced to leave their overpriced, glorified closet of a studio apartment to move in with George's jackass brother Rick (co-writer Ken Marino) and his wife Marissa (Michaela Watkins).
The lead-in has its share of laughs, but – literally and figuratively – that's just the beginning. En route from New York City to George's brother's house in Atlanta, the couple stumbles upon the hippie commune (apologies – "Intentional community") of Elysium.
Right about here I mentally cut to the writers' room and an exchange that probably went something like this:
"How do we make d*mn sure the audience knows this is where the hippies come in?"
"Gratuitous male nudity, duh."
And so, the first slice of hippie life George and Linda (and the audience) are treated to is an extended full-frontal of Wayne the nudist (played shamelessly by Joe LoTruglio).
From here the audience is introduced to the cast of caricatures that make up the Elysium community (and many more opportunities for naked Wayne jokes). While the sheer number of quirky hippie weirdos overwhelmed me at first, "Wanderlust" does a great job of managing them and keeping the stereotypical jokes from falling flat.
What also helps prevent hippie burn-out (I couldn't help myself) are the scenes at Rick and Marissa's yuppie abode interspersed between time at Elysium. Not content to simply make fun of the hippies, the movie takes this opportunity to skewer the upper class, too.
The hysterical douchebaggery of Rick and the passive-aggressive, bitter-housewife alcoholism of Marissa made for some of my favorite scenes. I almost wish they got more screen time, but at the risk of overplaying the hand, what time they did get was just right.
The ending got a few good punchlines in, but like most comedies, "Wanderlust" is more about the journey than the destination. This journey wasn't perfect, but it was pretty close.
Contrary to her natural state of being, Renee Lorenz is a total optimist when it comes to Milwaukee. Since beginning her career with OnMilwaukee.com, her occasional forays into the awesomeness that is the Brew City have turned into an overwhelming desire to discover anything and everything that's new, fun or just ... "different."
Expect her random musings to cover both the new and "new-to-her" aspects of Miltown goings-on, in addition to periodically straying completely off-topic, which usually manifests itself in the form of an obscure movie reference.