Movie Review: Wanderlust

          What is it about comedy that makes it a young man’s game?  Is it a closeness to the average person?  Is it a fresher take on life?  Is it a lack of creative pressure?  Whatever it is, it has become quite obvious that the older and more successful a comedian becomes the less funny he gets.  This is best seen in the movies, where comedians and comedy writers hit the scene with new fresh hilarious material that slowly becomes more watered down and mainstream the older they get.  Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Eddie Murphy, these are guys who made names for themselves with edgy ground breaking comedy, they started out in movies that would show up on almost everyone’s top 10 lists, but now they crank out nothing but rom-com slop.

            It looks like you can now add David Wain and Ken Marino to the list.  The one time members of the influential sketch comedy troupe The State and makers of comedy classics like Wet Hot American Summer have just released Wanderlust.  Wanderlust was a movie I wanted to love but only found typical watered down romantic mainstream crap.  This seems to be the type of movie one makes when success has been reached.  Wain finally reached some level of mainstream success with 2008’s Role Models and now gives us something that only hints at his wonderful sense of humor.  Maybe it is studio pressure that causes the humor to be watered down.  I understand that the more money the studios put in the less control you get and the more pressure there is to appeal to a wider audience, but it pains my heart to see great comedic names to be attached to something so bland.

            I am being a little harsh.  Wanderlust isn’t without its funny moments.  There were scenes where I found myself laughing out loud.  Alan Alda is great and steals every scene he's in.  Michaela Watkins is amazing as Ken Mario's drugged up southern house wife.  Her subtle yet intense approach to being married to the world's worst human is hilarious.  And, of course, Paul Rudd has his moments, the funniest being when he tries to psychic himself up to have extra-marital sex with Malin Akerman.

          You can see Wain’s and his other State friend’s sense of humor sprinkled throughout the movie, but at its heart Wanderlust is a mainstream romantic comedy and that’s what shines through.  I hope this movie is an aberration, that the next David Wain movie will have all the off beat absurdest humor we’ve grown to love, but if history is any sign, don’t hold your breath.