Ever since the heady days of ‘the lean’ rom-com posters have been suitably low on inspiration. Not a day went by where you didn’t see Matthew McConaughey leaning toward some hire-a-face actress who in turn was leaning toward him. Oh how they leaned! The only thing stopping them from collapsing into a self satisfied heap of attractiveness was the mutually supportive lean based construction the two had created , it’s foundations composed entirely of commercially motivated whimsy and the structural integrity of McConaughey’s abs.
Well now that such lean-centric advertising has fallen into the realms of cliché and parody the first poster for Wanderlust is out and it looks set to revolutionise the way actors and actresses pose for promotional material that wishes to signal “fun and frothy romantic comedy!”:
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 colourful 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?
I’m guessing it’s going to solve all of their problems. Just a hunch.
Yep from the poster it seems there’s going to be a lot of ‘throwing caution to the wind!’ and ‘living life down the path less travelled!’ and a load of other shouty potentially comedic stuff. Oh, and a redemptive ending that tells you that working the 9 to 5 grind might not be the best way to go about your life. The whole jumping into the unknown thing the new poster’s got going on has loads of potential. Just stick your actress and McConaughey of choice into the actress and McConaughey sized gaps and you can promote any film with it. As a matter of fact I might copyright it right now. This poster’s got legs.
In reference to the film itself all we have to go on is the trailer. The trailer where the comedy looks to be found largely in the culture shock induced when one joins a hippie commune, that and Paul Rudd. And I love Paul Rudd.
Well everything seems in order then. Let’s hope it lives up to its potential. And that Aniston is funny for once.
Source: IMP Awards.
