Universal Pictures has send us over still for their upcoming "Wanderlust", which hits theaters tomorrow. The film is being executive produced by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up)and starring Paul Rudd (Role Models, Knocked Up) and Jennifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses, Office Space).

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/wanderlustmovie

Plot Synopsis:

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?

Written & Directed by: Judd Apatow

Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill

In general, most comedians draw their material from a place of great unhappiness. Whether they are happy at the moment you see them is irrelevant. Whatever has bothered them in the past or present is what drives every joke and every set up. Maybe the issue is that humor gives someone a license to laugh at you. If you are not funny and they are still laughing, you’re either famous or a total loser. Sometimes both.

George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is a wildly successful stand-up comedian turned comedic actor. Since George is miserable, perhaps that is why he just keeps making people laugh. But now, George has just been diagnosed with a rare blood disease similar to leukemia. Now more than ever, George needs to make someone laugh.

A bit lost with how to react, George dutifully takes his experimental medications and tries to assess his life leading up to that moment. When George sees how alone he is, he heads back to his stand-up roots. George’s reemergence is a dark surprise to those who witness his first set in five years. For Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) who must perform after his set, it is an event that one must comment on. There is no one a comedian loves to joke about more than another comedian. When George bombs, Ira, like any comedian, is genetically predisposed to comment on the train wreck.

Comedians are a competitive group by nature and love to talk shit about one another. When Ira meets George just after ridiculing his performance, George compliments his set and drives off. While Ira returns to his life of watching his friends find success in comedy while he watches from the pull out couch, George returns to his lonely life. Hoping to take charge of his life, George calls Ira and hires him to write jokes and act as his personal assistant. While Ira helps George clean out all the material possessions of his life, he also helps him get back on his feet both physically and emotionally.

In reviewing his life, George learns just how miserable his is and dwells on the past. Hoping to regain some of what he lost, George reconnects with his old loves: comedy and ex-girlfriend Laura (Leslie Mann).

“Funny People” is a perfect portrait of the world of comedians. In a profession that requires so much laughter to succeed, you seem to see a lot of anger and self loathing. Comedians are generally all at once the least confident and most ballsy of people. They thrive on being broken down and breaking down one another. It is a strange and fascinating world, but it is probably not as amusing to most people as it is for me.

Sandler is brilliant as George Simmons and underplays the character just enough so that although you like George, you still know he is deeply flawed underneath. Rogen holds his own as Ira, and he gives a reliable performance for Sandler to play off of. Although Ira is supposed to be the nice guy, you can not help but wonder if he too has the capacity to become George someday. Maybe life with George can change that future, but if he truly is like George, it will be a hell of a battle to avoid it. The rest of the cast is a great collection of cameos and supporting performances, but ultimately it is the humor that is the main character.

I personally love a good drama with a heavy sprinkling of comedy. Life is more like that than any other movie genre. What I love about this movie is the feeling that although this is fiction, there is still genuineness there. Clearly Judd Apatow was connected to this project on a personal level and that only elevates the direction and the performances.

There is plenty of humor in this movie, but not all of it is from the stand-up. In fact, some of the biggest and funniest moments are the ones in the lives of the characters. Though everything will eventually make its way to the jokes on the stage, it is always the actual moments that are the most special. What this movie manages to do is show those moments in an honest way. It isn’t always a pretty thing, but it is very real. Though a comedian’s joke might be a second generation telling of a story, this movie manages to make it feel like it is the first.

For all the criticism of the lack of realism in Apatow’s films (i.e. Heigl dating Rogen), I have always found that the emotions of Apatow’s films are truer than most writers working today. Maybe it is because I love people who use humor as readily as they breathe, or maybe it is just because Apatow knows how to bring out an emotional response with his work. Whatever the reason, I found this movie to be one of the better written and directed movies I have seen this year.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008)

Directed by Dennis Dugan

Written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel & Judd Apatow

Starring:
Adam Sandler
John Turturro
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Nick Swardson
Lanie Kazan
Ido Mosseri
Rob Schneider
Dave Matthews

The films of Adam Sandler are some of the easiest movies for me to figure out. There's not much middle ground. Especially with the comedies. They seem to be either kind of stupid, but really funny, or kind of funny, but really stupid. That's why it blows my mind when people seem baffled by his work. Maybe it's one of those cases where you either get the guy or you don't. If you count yourself as a fan, then it's probably pretty simple for you to pick your favorites, but for those who are on the fence, the consensus always seems to be confusion. Sandler didn't help matters when he started doing dramas. Now people wonder why he doesn't do more of them, where fans just admire his versatility, although we occasionally wonder how someone so talented could lay such a massive egg.

Recently, RottenTomatoes.com ranked all of Sandler's films based on critics' scores. Critics seem to be even more out of the loop than the average moviegoer. Obviously, I don't speak for everybody, but I have always found it to be overwhelmingly obvious that Mr. Deeds was Sandler's worst film to date, but RT has it listed as only the fourth worst. I also think that Little Nicky is one of his better comedies (and one of his most underrated) and it is listed at one slot higher than Deeds and ranked lower than such ultimate stinkers as Airheads and the Longest Yard. Worse than that, the Longest Yard, one of the worst remakes in recent history, is ranked higher than the Waterboy, one that most Sandler fans would rate as easily one of his best. I was also shocked that 50 First Dates was not only ranked as the 6th best Sandler film of all time, but ahead of Big Daddy, the Waterboy and Little Nicky. I can't argue with the number one choice of Punch Drunk Love, but I had a major bone to pick with a lot of the other placings. The reason I mention all this is that I found the reviews of You Don't Mess With the Zohan to be pretty rough so far. As it stands right now, it appears that it will be among the most poorly reviewed Sandler films. While I can't say this film is amazing, or one of his elite, it is easily one of his funniest in a long time, probably since Little Nicky and possibly one of his 5 funniest movies ever.

If you walk into the theater and expect a plausible plot, groundbreaking performances, a film with no holes and a smart, bulletproof script, then you've obviously never seen an Adam Sandler comedy before. If you know what you're in for, you should be pleased, because it is one of the better screenplays he's had to work with, which no doubt can be attributed to Apatow's contributions. There are certainly flat spots and scenes that are just plain dumb and unnecessary, but the movie is consistently funny and fun. My only major complaint is that it didn't have enough of those laugh out loud moments. It was funny enough throughout to save it from being utterly boring and ridiculous, but a few more "chuckle 'til it hurts" moments could have made it a clear cut Sandler classic. Regardless, I still think it comes pretty close.

I'm not going to go into the plot. It's not that significant. It's not the worst storyline I've ever seen. In fact, as it goes for Sandler comedies, it's probably one of the better ones. I can get behind the idea of an Israeli counter-terrorist wanting to move to New York to become a hairdresser. If you like that idea, then give the film a chance. If you're already a Sandler fan, the plot is inconsequential. If you're not, there's still a chance you'll like some of it, but it doesn't have that big chance to convert you like a film like Reign Over Me or Punch Drunk Love has. Most of you have probably decided whether or not you will watch the film at this point. All I can say is that I think it's pretty fucking funny. Nothing else I can say will change your mind either way.

The Sandman is good in it. He made me laugh a lot. Good belly laughs. Not 'til I had tears in my eyes like I had hoped, but the laughs were hearty enough to keep me involved. There was a bit of a lull near the end of the movie, but I never had an overwhelming feeling that I wished it was over. The rest of the performances ranged anywhere from pretty good to lackluster, but no one really stunk it up too bad. Schneider probably came closest, I hate to say.

There were a shitload (that is the technical term) of fun cameos in the movie. I don't want to ruin it too much for you, but the most surprising was probably Dave Matthews. I found him to be pretty entertaining, something he's been hard pressed to do with his music. Maybe he should switch to acting. Another favorite cameo of mine was by none other than the Facts of Life's Charlotte Rae, who, as one of Sandler's customers, got the "special treatment". Pretty damn priceless. I will never see Mrs. Garrett in the same light again.

So in conclusion, you get what you ask for when you walk into this kind of movie. It's dumb, silly and rather pointless, especially for a film that wants so badly to be political, but it's also rewarding in little ways and as far as I'm concerned, his funniest movie in 8 years. If you're looking for something else, more power to you. But if you need a light, throwaway flick to kill a couple hours of reality, you'll more than likely be mightily pleased.

Score: 3.25 out of 5