Wanderlust (2012 film)
| Wanderlust | |
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| Directed by | David Wain |
| Produced by | Judd Apatow Ken Marino Paul Rudd David Wain |
| Screenplay by | David Wain Ken Marino |
| Starring | Paul Rudd Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Alan Alda Malin Åkerman |
| Music by | Craig Wedren |
| Cinematography | Michael Bonvillain |
| Editing by | David Moritz Robert Nassau |
| Studio | A Hot Dog Productions Apatow Productions Relativity Media |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 98 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2] |
| Box office | $24,156,599[3] |
Wanderlust is a 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain, starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, as a married couple who try to escape modern society by finding themselves on a commune in Georgia, after the economy crashes down on their dreams in New York.
Grossing only $24 million worldwide on a budget of $35 million, Wanderlust received some positive reviews, but was a box office failure.
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Plot [edit]
George and Linda Gergenblatt are an urban married couple who purchase a micro-loft in New York after much hesitation. George is expecting a promotion while Linda is trying to sell a documentary to HBO. Soon after purchasing their home, George learns that his company has folded, overnight, while HBO rejects Linda's documentary. With both out of work, they are forced to sell their apartment and drive to Georgia to live with George's arrogant brother Rick and his wife Marisa after Rick offers George a job.
After many hours on the highway, Linda demands they stop to rest. The closest place to stop appears to be a bed and breakfast hotel named Elysium. After exiting the highway, as they approach, they are surprised to see a naked man walking ahead of them. He approaches them, and startled and apprehensive, George tries to back up to the highway, but accidentally flips the car over. The nude man, Wayne Davidson, helps them out of the car, and they are forced to stay at the hotel. They meet several colorful guests, and then go to bed. While trying to sleep, they are distracted by noises downstairs. When they go to investigate, they learn that Elysium is a hippie commune. They meet even more various, eccentric residents of Elysium, including Seth, Eva, and Elysium's owner Carvin. George and Linda spend the night feeling more alive than before. In the morning, everyone helps flip the car back upright so they can leave, as Seth urges them to stay, but they continue on to Atlanta.
George and Linda arrive at Rick's house and find the atmosphere chaotic. George quickly reaches a breaking point with Rick and takes Linda back to Elysium, where they are welcomed back. George is excited about the simpler lifestyle while Linda is hesitant. They decide to stay and give the place a two-week trial run. After a few days, Linda starts feeling enlightened by the lifestyle while George begins having second thoughts. George and Linda soon learn that 'free love' is strongly encouraged as Seth and Eva want to seduce Linda and George, respectively. Both George and Linda rebuff the notion of free love, and several crazy situations arise during that period, bizarre and otherwise.
At the same time, Elysium is being targeted by property developers to build a casino on the property, as title to the property is disputed, and Carvin has misplaced the deed to the land. After the developers arrive with a bulldozer, to make a TV reporting-crew take more interest, Linda scares them off by flashing them her breasts, and many of the other residents join her, which gets sensationalized coverage, and halts the proceeding. Linda is lauded as a hero by the commune. The two weeks are up, and George demands that they leave, saying that if they stay, they would have to give in to 'free love'. Linda wants to stay and has sex with Seth. George is pressured to have sex with Eva, but he becomes uncomfortable and drives her away with his awkward and bizarre behavior. The next morning, George reaches a breaking point, again, stating that he dislikes the rules of Elysium and wants to leave. Linda wants to stay, so George goes back to Rick's house alone.
Seth believes he has found his soul mate in Linda and searches for the deed to Elysium, which he finds and sells to the property developers to start a new life with Linda. A child from the commune witnesses the burning of the deed by Seth and the man that wants to build the casino. Seth tells Linda he wants them to leave Elysium behind, together, and that the others can look after themselves. Linda refuses.
In the meantime, George realizes he loves Linda and comes back to find her, getting into a fight with Seth while the commune looks on and tries to help 'non-violently'. The child that witnessed the burning of the deed by Seth tells the commune what happened and George punches Seth in the jaw.
In the aftermath, the news show that visited Elysium does a follow-up story about the commune. George and Linda start a publishing company, with their first book being a political thriller novel written by Wayne. The novel is then fast-tracked into a film adaptation starring Ray Liotta. Carvin reclaims his rights to Elysium after he is reunited with all the original founders of Elysium, one of whom had another copy of the deed.
Cast [edit]
- Paul Rudd as George Gergenblatt
- Jennifer Aniston as Linda Gergenblatt
- Justin Theroux as Seth
- Malin Åkerman as Eva
- Lauren Ambrose as Almond Cohen
- Joe Lo Truglio as Wayne Davidson
- Alan Alda as Carvin Wiggins
- Kathryn Hahn as Karen
- Ken Marino as Rick Gergenblatt
- Jordan Peele as Rodney Wilson
- Kerri Kenney-Silver as Kathy
- Michaela Watkins as Marisa Gergenblatt
- Ray Liotta as himself
- Trisha Paytas as Davidson's Wife
Paul Rudd reunited with Jennifer Aniston for the first time in seven years, when they worked together in 18 episodes of the sitcom Friends. The two also co-starred with Alan Alda in the 1998 comedy The Object of My Affection.
Production [edit]
David Wain began chronicling the film's production and pre-production on his blog on May 21, 2010.[4] Most of the production took place in Georgia. Additional material was filmed in New York City and Los Angeles.
Filming [edit]
Principal photography took place in a number of places in Georgia: the Gwinnett Diner in Lawrenceville (which was also used for a scene in the film Road Trip); a subdivision called Miramonte Way off Ozora Road in the Lawrenceville, Georgia area;[5][6] and in Habersham County, off of New Liberty Road.[7]
Release [edit]
The film was released on February 24, 2012. During its first weekend Wanderlust opened at #8, with $6.5 million from 2,002 locations.[8] Given its poor debut, it was considered a box-office flop.[9] After six weeks, it concluded its theatrical run with domestic gross of $17,288,155 and foreign gross of $4,162,198.[10]
Wanderlust was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 19th, 2012[11]
Reception [edit]
The film opened with mixed to positive reviews. Based upon 129 reviews, it received a 59% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus saying, "It isn't always as funny as it should be, but Wanderlust benefits from an extremely talented cast and some of David Wain's most confident, assured work behind the camera."[12] Audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore.[13]
Accolades [edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Comedic Movie Actress | Jennifer Aniston | Won |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "WANDERLUST (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
- ^ "Movie Projector: 'Act of Valor' to gun down box-office rivals - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. February 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "Wanderlust". the-numbers.com.
- ^ (2010-05-21). "WanderLust begins...". David Wain’s Blog. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Jennifer Aniston begins filming ‘Wanderlust’ in Atlanta". Onlocationvacations.com. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "Pictures of Jennifer Aniston in Atlanta, GA Filming Wanderlust". Popsugar.com. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "Jennifer Aniston sightings, traffic concerns in Habersham". AccessNorthGa. 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office: February 24–26, 2012". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ Johnson, Zach (February 26, 2012). "Jennifer Aniston's Wanderlust Bombs at the Box Office". Yahoo!. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Wanderlust: Weekly". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ "Wanderlust DVD". CD Universe. Retrieved 2012-20-6.
- ^ "Wanderlust". Flixster. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
- ^ Weinstein, Joshua (February 25, 2012). "Act of Valor Destroys Competition, Is No. 1 at Friday Box Office". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
External links [edit]
- Official website
- Wanderlust at the Internet Movie Database
- Wanderlust at AllRovi
- Wanderlust at Box Office Mojo
- Wanderlust at Rotten Tomatoes
- Wanderlust at Metacritic
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