Year: 2012
Directed By: David Wein
Written By: David Wain & Ken Marino
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston
Plot Outline:
Rattled by sudden unemployment, George & Linda survey alternative living options….. ultimately deciding to experiment with living on a rural hippy commune where free love rules.
My Thoughts:
I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Aniston and I have seen every one of her movies, so I fully expected to love this and I wasn’t disappointed. I found the story sucked me in from the very beginning, I have loved Paul Rudd since his Clueless days and really enjoy him as a comedic actor – this is yet another fantastic comedy role for him. I found them very believable as a couple, and I instantly found myself caring about what happened to them – which is something that is easily achieved in a light hearted comedy where the characters tend to be quite one dimensional with little background given.
I literally laughed out loud about 5 times during the first 10 minutes of the movie -you know the kind of laugh where you can’t control how loud you are?! That’s how I know a movie is genuinely funny…when its more than just a giggle and you can’t actually control how loud you are laughing!
I did almost find it a little hard to relate to a couple of aspects of the story, but on the whole I found this movie a thoroughly enjoyable comedy and I thought it was a much better role for Jen Aniston than some of her other recent choices (Namely: Management, Love Happens & Just Go With It) – you can almost feel that this role is closer to her own personality and one she is able to play with much more feeling!
High Points:
The funniest part of the movie by far is the “hallucinogenic tea” scene – brilliant! There are also some very funny cringe moments played brilliantly by Paul Rudd.
Aniston & Rudd themselves are the true highlight of the movie though, I’m not sure it would have worked with any other actors in the main roles – plus I thought Jennifer looked more beautiful than I have ever seen her in this!
Michaela Watkins is also fantastic as George’s very unhappy sister in law.
Michaela Watkins is also fantastic as George’s very unhappy sister in law.
Low Points:
I guess, thinking about it now, there’s not really a great deal of plot to the movie – the way the story plays out feels very much like the writers had just seen some comic value in the idea of writing a movie based on a hippie commune and had just quickly thrown a loose plot around the idea – but still, its funny nonetheless and if you’re a fan of David Wain’s other breakout hit Role Models, you’ll love this too!
All in all – don’t go expecting anything deep & meaningful, but if you want a laugh – give it a watch! I’d recommend to anybody who enjoys this kind of comedy or is a fan of either Paul Rudd or Jennifer Aniston.
Rating: 4 out of 5