Wanderlust was much better than I thought it would be – the preview definitely does not do it justice. I found the film consistently funny from start to finish, something pretty unusual in modern comedies. It does feature some fairly raunchy humor, which I’m not the biggest fan of. But in contrast, for example, to the comedies of Rogan/Smith/Apatow, Wanderlust doesn’t push the raunchy stuff beyond the threshold of adult dignity (and into the realm of perverted, retarded fourth graders with rectomania.) The filmmakers keep it short and sweet, and there is a lot of non-raunchy humor to balance the experience.

I should add that the humor in the film serves very well the larger goal of skewering western neo-spiritualism and the whole idea of a commune of spiritualist freaks living in isolation. I found the satire to be pretty accurate, including the couple’s seduction by the place, and I say this as someone who has (to my eternal ignominy) actually mixed with this crowd on their turf quite a bit. I once ran into a guy who was a hell of a lot like the “Seth” character in the film – he’s not as far fetched as you might think. My wife and I found the whole satiric theme of the film very funny and kind of cathartic!

But the real star attraction here is Paul Rudd. He makes the entire film, as he usually does with films he appears in. He glues the whole thing together as few actors can, and he injects a certain good-natured and classy presence that effortlessly smooths over any rough spots where the humor crosses a line. This film would not have been even half as good without him. There is no actor I can think of that could pull off the reaction he displays when Malin Ackerman out of the blue proposes (since the community embraces free love) that she could lick his balls while she gives him a blowjob. And there is no other actor who could make the whole “disgusting sex talk in the mirror” scene actually sort of sweet and endearing, in addition to being gross and really funny. Maybe Steve Carrell comes the closest, but even he tends to hold himself a bit apart from the humor he is playing; Rudd does not. I am starting to think that Rudd is a comic genius, and I’m not sure why he’s not winning awards.

Jennifer Aniston is fine in her role, but she is very much just along for the ride here. She’s a neutral and does not pull the movie down, but she also doesn’t add much. Kathryn Hahn, who appears to be following Paul Rudd around from movie to movie (smart move!) is again superb in an outrageous supporting role. All the other supporting actors are quite strong, and they blend well together.

If you like raunchy, semi-outrageous humor, done with class and dignity, give Wanderlust a try. For any Paul Rudd fans, or people with issues about western, new-age spirituality, it’s a must-see.