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WANDERLUST (2012)Movie Reviews
Comedy about a stressed out Manhattan couple who seek a fresh start in an idyllic community where people don't seem to worry about money or careers. Cast:Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Ray Liotta, Alan AldaDirector:David WainRelease Date:February 24, 2012DVD Release:June 19, 2012From:UniversalRating:RLength:1 hr 38 min
Wanderlust (2012) played to mixed reviews. • Carrie Rickey wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer, "...a riotous, raunchy, and more than a little raggedy showcase for Rudd's improv genius and Aniston's airy groundedness. He is gut-busting funny, she gently ticklish..." • And Connie Ogle wrote in the Miami Herald, "...lazy... You'll laugh a couple of times, but you'll wait a good long time to do it." More Reviews Below...
Mary Pols, Time: MODERATE "There aren't enough laugh-out-loud moments and the film's pacing slows... the chemistry between Rudd and Aniston is never more than pleasant..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 800 words, 02/24/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Your expectations are crucial here.... If you can be as open-minded as the drugged-up denizens of Elysium, then it's all good, brother."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 635 words, 02/22/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...lets Rudd shine. The actor is so clean-cut cute, yet so fearlessly capable of rolling in happy raunch.... it's a pleasure to see Aniston thrive in her comedy zone..."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 02/24/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Rudd lets the funny fly.... when the script sags, David Wain and producer Judd Apatow rely on a top team of actors to keep you laughing."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 316 words, 02/24/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...essentially a series of comic sketches... Most of it is pretty funny stuff. A lot is not unfamiliar gross-out sex or body function humor..."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 721 words, 02/23/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for every few jokes that hit in this story about a recession-battered New York couple finding themselves on a Georgia commune, one sputters and dies..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 02/24/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...may lack the satiric edge of Albert Brooks' 'Lost in America,' but it does deliver more big laughs than most comedies these days."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 545 words, 02/24/12
Roger Moore, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "David Wain (who co-wrote and directed) has nothing funny to say, and Ken Marino can't find a laugh in front of or behind the camera."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 02/24/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: POOR(cg) "Two high-pressure Manhattanites chuck it all for a care-free rural commune... a comedy that aims for hip irreverence but ends up firmly in Squaresville."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 02/24/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: VERY GOOD "...exuberant... mostly works because of another kind of collective: marvelous clowns who groove on the chance to turn Utopia dystopian."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 02/27/12
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "There are solid, often funny performances... Supporting players Jessica St. Clair, Jordan Peele and Kerri Kenney are entertaining..."(See all of Linda Barnard's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 02/24/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...directed with deceptive looseness by David Wain, who co-wrote with Ken Marino... It's hard to remember a comedy so populated with good character bits."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 02/22/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: POOR(cg) "So I tried it out. I left the theatre doing what I didn't do once in the theatre. I smiled. I even laughed. Sorry, no luck - apparently, a pummelled brain just can't be tricked."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 611 words, 02/24/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...succeeds on pretty much every level. It's hysterically funny, which would be enough to make it a must-see film right about now, but it's also a very smart film..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 411 words, 02/24/12
KEY CITIES (11 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "Paul Rudd delivers moments of inspired lunacy... a shambling mix of cheap laughs and genuinely funny set pieces from writer-director David Wain."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 02/24/12
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a riotous, raunchy, and more than a little raggedy showcase for Rudd's improv genius and Aniston's airy groundedness. He is gut-busting funny, she gently ticklish..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 02/24/12
Kara Nesvig, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...produces tons of laughs in its compact 90 minutes and doesn't overstay its welcome. The bad jokes are bad, but the good ones are great."(See all of Kara Nesvig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 382 words, 02/24/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "You can see why these comics are favorites of other comics -- they're constantly pushing things just a bit further, holding shots for too long..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 02/24/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "Occasionally the gags feel effortful or flat, but for the most part they're funny, with a surprising percentage in the laugh-out-loud category."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 568 words, 02/24/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has enough laugh-out-loud moments that it wins you over... it works more often than it doesn't, and sometimes that's just enough."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 02/24/12
Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: FAIR(cg) "...encourages a few smiles, an occasional chuckle but never the kind of convulsive laughter or shock that this material could invite."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 483 words, 02/24/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: MODERATE(cg) "It's got Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston and hippie jokes and lots of improv. The problem is, it's got too many hippie jokes and too much improv."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 441 words, 02/24/12
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: WEAK(cg) "...lazy... You'll laugh a couple of times, but you'll wait a good long time to do it. Rudd is responsible for most of the laughs. Aniston is responsible for none of them."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 02/24/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...directed with deceptive looseness by David Wain, who co-wrote with Ken Marino... It's hard to remember a comedy so populated with good character bits."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 02/22/12
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: VERY GOOD(cg) "Wain has once again proven that it's hard to go wrong with a formula that includes a funny script, great leads, and a supporting cast that can steal the scene..."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 612 words, 02/24/12
Betsy Sherman, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Rudd does some great riffing (especially his hillbilly dirty talk), but ultimately the sum of 'Wanderlust's' parts is greater than the whole."(See all of Betsy Sherman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 162 words, 03/01/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: GOOD(cg) "...peters out halfway... but it presents a believable case for why two people with no innate hippie impulses would become infatuated with and join life in a rural collective..."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 866 words, 02/23/12
Jesse Cataldo, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...manages to feel current, and relatively funny, without ever becoming particularly pointed, resulting in a floppy but satisfactory middlebrow comedy."(See all of Jesse Cataldo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 02/23/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...succeeds on pretty much every level. It's hysterically funny, which would be enough to make it a must-see film right about now, but it's also a very smart film..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 411 words, 02/24/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "So you think you've seen silly? And smarmy? And inept? Wait till you see this... it is nothing if not strenuous, strident and gross, and most of it fails the comedy test."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 359 words, 02/24/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for every few jokes that hit in this story about a recession-battered New York couple finding themselves on a Georgia commune, one sputters and dies..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 02/24/12
Dana Stevens, Slate: GOOD "...provides at least one solid laugh per scene, with a few stretches of more extended hilarity (along with more than one riff that dies writhing before our eyes)."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 02/24/12
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...balanced by well rounded performances.... If the ensuing plot beats are easy to chart in advance, they're sold by a good-natured cast..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 448 words, 02/22/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for every few jokes that hit in this story about a recession-battered New York couple finding themselves on a Georgia commune, one sputters and dies..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 707 words, 02/24/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "So you think you've seen silly? And smarmy? And inept? Wait till you see this... it is nothing if not strenuous, strident and gross, and most of it fails the comedy test."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 359 words, 02/24/12
19.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Wanderlust (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 19.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Wanderlust (2012) (43 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Wanderlust (2012)'s reviews cover 87.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 23,487 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 546 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5.9 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Wanderlust (2012)'s reviews on average broke 5.9 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Wanderlust (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Wanderlust (2012) (43 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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