Wanderlust

Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston star in Wanderlust, a raucous comedy from director David Wain (Role Models) and producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) about a couple who leaves the pressures of the big city and joins a freewheeling community where the only rule is to be yourself.

George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are 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.

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.

Is Elysium the fresh start George and Linda need? Or will the change of perspective cause more problems than it solves?

Opens in theaters Friday, February 24, 2012.

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Our Idiot Brother

Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother’s unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned’s family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him; Ned isn’t such an idiot after all.

Opens Friday, August 26th.

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How Do You Know

Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson star in How Do You Know, the new comedy written and directed by James L. Brooks that takes a contemporary and romantic look at the question, “How do you know?”

Lisa (Witherspoon) is a woman whose athletic ability is the defining passion of her life, having been her focus since early childhood. When she is cut from her team, everything she has ever known is suddenly taken from her. Not knowing what to do, she stumbles toward regular life. In this mode, she begins a fling with Matty (Wilson), a major league baseball pitcher, a self-centered ladies man – a narcissist with a code of honor.

George Madison (Rudd) is a straight-arrow businessman whose complicated relationship with his father, Charles (Nicholson), takes a turn when George is accused of a financial crime, even though he’s done nothing wrong. Though he may be headed to jail, George’s honesty, integrity, and unceasing optimism may be his only path to keeping his sanity.

Before Lisa’s relationship with Matty takes root, she meets George for a first date on the worst evening of each of their lives: she has just been cut, and he has just been served. When everything else seems to be falling apart, they will discover what it means to have something wonderful happen.

Opens December 17, 2010.

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Review in 100 Words – Dinner for Schmucks

For a film with a wealth of comedians (Steve Carell, Zach Galifinakis, Jermaine Clement and others), I wanted this movie to be funnier. Director Jay Roach (the Austin Powers films) goes for the easy laughs at the expense of star Paul Rudd. (Think the Ben Stiller character in the Fokker movies and one Rudd’s played many times before.) Carell’s Barry is sweet and awkward; like “The Office’s” Michael Scott’s less sophisticated cousin. The pedestrian writing will more than likely make you smile but rarely laugh out loud. I’ll be checking out the original French film with higher expectations, I think.

Dinner for Schmucks

“Dinner for Schmucks” tells the story of Tim (Paul Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Steve Carell), a guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art. From Jay Roach, director of “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers” comes an unforgettable feast about two unlikely friends and one very memorable dinner.

Opens July 30th.

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