Out today in theaters: "Wanderlust"

[BillBrasky]

Today marks the release of the new movie "Wanderlust", directed and co-written by "The State"'s David Wain, who penned the screenplay with fellow ex-"State" member Ken Marino.

"Wanderlust" stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston as an overextended, stressed out Manhattan couple. After George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George's awful brother in Atlanta (Marino). On the way there, George and Linda stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by colorful characters who embrace a different way of looking at things. Money? It can't buy happiness. Careers? Who needs them? Clothes? Only if you want them.

The film co-stars several of Wain's former sketch mates (Kerri Kenney, Jo Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black), as well as other familiar comedic faces like Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Kathryn Hahn, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Lauren Ambrose, Michaela Watkins, Jessica St. Clair, and Todd Barry.

[junesongprovider]

I am really looking forward to this.

Anyone else listen to this week's Comedy Film Nerds and find themselves surprised at Chris and Graham's openly disgusted reactions to the very mention of Wanderlust? I was under the impression David Wain and co. were well respected enough in the comedy community to rise above the "this looks awful" reaction and be judged only after seeing the movie. I have been eagerly anticipating Wain's new movie for a long time, so I was surprised to hear such strong negative reactions.

But then again, I haven't seen any trailers for it (I'm basing my opinion on the fact that everyone involved in writing, directing, and acting are people I love [with the possible exception of Jennifer Aniston]). Is the marketing for this movie particularly terrible?

[BillBrasky]

I am really looking forward to this.

Anyone else listen to this week's Comedy Film Nerds and find themselves surprised at Chris and Graham's openly disgusted reactions to the very mention of Wanderlust? I was under the impression David Wain and co. were well respected enough in the comedy community to rise above the "this looks awful" reaction and be judged only after seeing the movie. I have been eagerly anticipating Wain's new movie for a long time, so I was surprised to hear such strong negative reactions.

But then again, I haven't seen any trailers for it (I'm basing my opinion on the fact that everyone involved in writing, directing, and acting are people I love [with the possible exception of Jennifer Aniston]). Is the marketing for this movie particularly terrible?

This is a little unusual, but maybe Graham and Chris didn't know that Wain/Marino/etc. are involved with Wanderlust? I would find that hard to believe, them being such big film and comedy fans, but it's possible I suppose. If this movie was just Rudd and Aniston and the premise, without Wain and all the other comedians I like in it, I don't know that I would have been as interested.

I always try not to let trailers unduly influence me, especially if it's a movie with people I like in it, but I know most people are different. Especially with comedy trailers, there seems to be a knee-jerk reaction among most people that if it doesn't star someone they know and are familiar with as being a comedian, they will reject it immediately if it even looks the slightest bit bad. This is why "MacGruber" and "The Brothers Solomon" and most of the culty-type comedies that have come out in the last few years didn't really ever stand a chance at the box office. This is a little bit different in that it has Rudd and Aniston in it, but neither of them is really a huge box office draw.

Occasionally a movie will break through and buck this trend, "The Hangover" didn't have a hugely known star in it but the premise was understandable enough I guess that people decided they wanted to see it. Same with "Bridesmaids" last year. It's hard to fathom sometimes why something will grab people's attention, but like I was saying in the Wanderlust thread, I don't think this will be a big public success like Role Models was, it's just not that kind of movie.

[BillBrasky]

On a cheerier note, here's some good news from Wain re: the Wet Hot American Summer sequel:

It looks like the pressure from fans to do a follow-up to Wet Hot American Summer has finally paid off as Wain and Michael Showalter are currently working on a screenplay for a sequel, which Showalter has said will actually be a prequel. While they're trying to keep the plot of the movie (as well as how everyone will play their younger selves ten years later) wrapped up in secrecy, Wain explained to ComingSoon.net why they decided to do another movie:

"I think the following and the interest in 'Wet Hot American Summer' just kept growing all the time, so we are definitely interested in doing another one and that's in our plans."

With so many of the cast having gone on to bigger things and being far busier these days than they were back then, we wondered whether the guys were hedging their bets by writing parts for all of them in the script in hopes that will convince them to return.

"The 'Wet Hot family' has actually stayed in touch continuously so it's not like we're calling them cold," he said. "We're all still kind of buddies and we all look back fondly on that experience and I think everybody has already expressed interest in returning to it, so it should be great."

Those who think Wain is planning on using his connection to Apatow, an admitted fan of "Wet Hot," to make the sequel a much bigger studio movie may be surprised that Wain and his compadres instead plan on returning to their roots by making a smaller independent film.

"We're probably just going to go with the original team that did the movie in the first place and go back to all the people who were involved with it in the beginning to keep it pure," he told us.

[junesongprovider]

This is a little unusual, but maybe Graham and Chris didn't know that Wain/Marino/etc. are involved with Wanderlust?

That was the best explanation I could come up with. I felt like a bit of a jackass for assuming "oh, they must not know it's a David Wain movie, because it's impossible someone could not like David Wain". But, hell, if I can say that about anyone, it's Wain et al. And the movie itself really did deliver.

And I too try to avoid trailers. There was a trailer for Friends With Kids attached to Wanderlust when I saw it, and holy shit did that trailer make it look terrible. Luckily, I know enough to trust a movie starring Jon Hamm, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolph to be good, regardless of the shit trailer.

(Also, I am absolutely salivating at the prospect of Wet Hot American Summer 2)