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AWAY WE GO
2009 - Sam Mendes
Very well made and satisfying Road Movie about thirtysomething couple Burt and Veronica, played by "The Office"'s John Krasinski and "SNL"'s Maya Rudolph, who are unmarried and expecting their first child in a few months. After learning Burt's parents (Jeff Daniels & Catherine O'Hara) are suddenly moving far away, they realize they have no reason to stay in their small, cold Connecticut town anymore and can choose the setting for this next very important phase of their lives. They set out on the road, first to Arizona, then Wisconsin, Montreal and Miami, touching base with friends and family and getting a glimpse at some very different families before they start their own. There are some very funny moments interacting with the strange hosts along the way, especially Maggie Gyllenhaal and Josh Hamilton's militantly New Agey couple, and the biggest laugh for me was a dark non sequitur out of the mouth of a precocious random child in a hotel lobby.
But while there are some big laughs to be had, the strength of the flick is the relationship between Rudolph & Krasinski, which is touched with humor but also some real heart and a kind of honest subtlety refreshing in the climate of formulaic RomComs Hollywood too often cranks out. But even separating it from the crap, which isn't a very high bar to set it against, comparing it to the films in recent years bearing Judd Apatow's brand name or Todd Phillips' new hit The Hangover, most of which I enjoy a Hell of a lot, it's nice to have a smart, witty comedy for adults that also sets the crudity aside and gets laughs in a different tone.
I haven't been much of a fan of director Sam Mendes to date, including his multiple Oscar-winning debut American Beauty which I found to be woefully overrated, but I really enjoyed this one. The script is the first effort from real-life married literary darlings Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, and their sensibility is given a warm adaptation without the same kind of overwhelming visual style that has marked Mendes' previous features (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road). The supporting cast also includes Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan, Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey, Paul Schneider and Carmen Ejogo, all of which do fine work in the one or two scenes they get on the trip.
GRADE: B+
AWAY WE GO
2009 - Sam Mendes
Very well made and satisfying Road Movie about thirtysomething couple Burt and Veronica, played by "The Office"'s John Krasinski and "SNL"'s Maya Rudolph, who are unmarried and expecting their first child in a few months. After learning Burt's parents (Jeff Daniels & Catherine O'Hara) are suddenly moving far away, they realize they have no reason to stay in their small, cold Connecticut town anymore and can choose the setting for this next very important phase of their lives. They set out on the road, first to Arizona, then Wisconsin, Montreal and Miami, touching base with friends and family and getting a glimpse at some very different families before they start their own. There are some very funny moments interacting with the strange hosts along the way, especially Maggie Gyllenhaal and Josh Hamilton's militantly New Agey couple, and the biggest laugh for me was a dark non sequitur out of the mouth of a precocious random child in a hotel lobby.
But while there are some big laughs to be had, the strength of the flick is the relationship between Rudolph & Krasinski, which is touched with humor but also some real heart and a kind of honest subtlety refreshing in the climate of formulaic RomComs Hollywood too often cranks out. But even separating it from the crap, which isn't a very high bar to set it against, comparing it to the films in recent years bearing Judd Apatow's brand name or Todd Phillips' new hit The Hangover, most of which I enjoy a Hell of a lot, it's nice to have a smart, witty comedy for adults that also sets the crudity aside and gets laughs in a different tone.
I haven't been much of a fan of director Sam Mendes to date, including his multiple Oscar-winning debut American Beauty which I found to be woefully overrated, but I really enjoyed this one. The script is the first effort from real-life married literary darlings Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, and their sensibility is given a warm adaptation without the same kind of overwhelming visual style that has marked Mendes' previous features (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road). The supporting cast also includes Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan, Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey, Paul Schneider and Carmen Ejogo, all of which do fine work in the one or two scenes they get on the trip.
GRADE: B+