Wanderlust

There’s an old saying: there’s nothing more unfunny than somebody trying too hard to be funny. Actually, that’s not an old saying, I just made it up. But in the case of Wanderlust, it’s unfortunately true. I’ve always admired the David Wain/Ken Marino/The State projects, from Reno 911 to The Ten to Children’s Hospital and so on. But Wanderlust lacks a premise beyond the initial yuppies become hippies, and the filmmakers hope that improvised shtick will fill in the blanks. It doesn’t. There’s so much potential here for satire that was squandered by Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston and the meager attempts to bookend comedic non-sequiturs with bad romantic comedy hokey-ness. It’s a lazy enterprise from a troupe that’s capable of much better. Nevertheless, I will tune into the new season of Children’s Hospital eagerly.