Go see a funny movie!

Last week I was lucky enough to see Wanderlust starring Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, and Malin Ackerman. I give this film two thumbs up, but it’s definitely not for everyone. From members of the comedy crew who brought us Wet Hot American Summer and who are originally from the 1990s MTV sketch show The State, Wanderlust has many oddities and a non-mainstream vibe, but if you don't LOL throughout, then you're a stupid face.



First things first – I was super excited to see the movie in which Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux fell in love. A quick word on why I love Jennifer Aniston – I’m not sure why. But I’m legit obsessed with her and think she’s perfect. I typically have a hatred (like a really strong and angry hatred) for people who don’t have a very defined personality (as she has been accused of), wet blankets, if you will. But like Lauren Conrad, I love her anyway and want only the best for her in life. And I want to be her. Did you just put Jennifer Aniston and Lauren Conrad in the same sentence? Yes. Yes, I did. Ok, moving on…

What happens is Linda (Jennifer Aniston) and George (Paul Rudd) want to take the next step in their married life – buying an apartment in New York City. The opening scene is with their realtor, an old woman, who somehow ends up talking about her blind husband and how she can get him off with one flick of her wrist. So yeah, if that kind of crassness offends you or isn’t up your alley, then this movie probably isn’t for you cause it gets more offensive and gross (but, in my opinion, an amazing way).

George and Linda end up buying a super expensive teeny tiny studio in the West Village (which, honestly looks really cute and cool even if they do have to sleep on a Murphy bed). George loses his job and they have to give up the apartment and move to Atlanta to live with his dickish brother Rick (Ken Marino, who also co-wrote the movie) in Atlanta.

On the way they stumble across an Inn and end up staying the night. They find out it’s not an Inn, it’s a commune, or as the members refer to it, an “intentional living” community, which is unofficially led by Seth (Justin Theroux). Linda and George have an amazing night hanging out, smoking pot, skinny dipping in the lake, and having sex without falling asleep in the middle of it, all that good stuff.



Anyway, blah blah blah they end up wanting to give commune living a shot, because they have nothing else to do. I would say “and hilarity ensues” but it’s seriously been ensuing this whole time. Paul Rudd is absolutely excellent. At the top of his game, really. I thought he was funny enough in I Love You Man but this brings that to the next level, because unlike that movie, this one is actually hilarious.



The audience laughed out loud at least once every 5 minutes. If you’re a fan of David Wain’s (the director and co-writer) work – Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, Stella, Children’s Hospital—you will definitely like this and LOL even more often than that (which I did). It’s that kind of humor that’s, to borrow IFC’s catchphrase, is “always on, slightly off”. Besides the random / not-so-random nudity in this movie (there is a slow-mo scene of naked old people running and one of the characters is a nudist), there’s just the general feel that this movie is different. And so great. SO GO SEE IT!

The best show you're not watching

In case you haven’t heard, Cougar Town is not about Cougars. It’s an uh-mah-zing, hilarious and fun sitcom about a group of friends who drink a ton of wine, hang out all the time, and make fun of each other. As creator Bill Lawrence says, it’s a show about “adult friendship”.



Bill Lawrence was also the mind behind Scrubs and Spin City. Basically, the guy knows what he’s doing and he’s fucking hilarious. Unfortunately, he named his show “Cougar Town”, which he freely admits is the worst show title ever. And it’s hard to explain to people that this show is NOT. ABOUT. COUGARS. What’s not to love about a show that refers to drinking wine as “pounding grape”?!?!?! That’s just the tip of the iceberg of awesomeness that is this show. And if you liked Scrubs, you'll like this. And if you didn't like Scrubs, get your shit together. AND if you're going to start watching Cougar Town, DO NOT watch the first 6 episodes of season 1. The show was still getting it's footing and is in no way representative of the series. K thanks.



For the past month of so Cougar Town has been doing an impressive grass roots effort to get the word out about their show – throwing viewing parties in various cities (using their own time and money) where they show two episodes from the upcoming third season, which premieres on ABC tonight at 8:30. I was SUPER psyched to attend one of the two the NYC viewing parties at the Paley Center on Saturday night with the full cast plus co-creators Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel.



The two episodes we saw were excellent. LOLs filled the room throughout both. Although I have to say I do prefer watching this show from my couch with a nice wine buzz that keeps me constantly giggling as opposed to in a theater with 100+ super fans who were legit screaming at things like the appearance of Ted Buckland (the lawyer from Scrubs) and his acapella group “The Blanks”, which was exciting but not scream-worthy.



There is also a short but sweet Scrubs reunion scene at the end of one of the episodes. But I couldn’t hear anything anyone said in it because of the spastic squeels from the super fans. I mean, I def also screamed when I saw Zach Braff’s face, but whatever. My favorite part of the Q & A was when someone asked why he had a Scrubs reunion scene, Bill answered “Because I wanted to do a Scrubs reunion scene!” duh!



Anyway, during the panel talk, moderated by TVLine.com's Michael Ausiello, it became clear not only that Bill Lawrence is the captain of the awesome ship that is “Cougar Town” but also that the cast is a group of friends who love each other and have a lot of fun working together.

So the moral of the story is you should definitely give Cougar Town a shot. I know it’s Valentine’s Day but if you could at least record it and check it out, I think you will fully enjoy. And although you don’t HAVE to pour yourself a large glass of pinot (grigio or noir, it’s up to you), it’s highly encouraged that you do.