With so many talented people at play, it’s hard to imagine what to expect out of a film. Will it be a quasi-interesting story that is salvaged by great directing? Will all the talented actors not have enough screen time to shine? Or will it all come together in perfect harmony and be a perfect film? When it comes to “Away We Go,” it is none of those, but that’s not such a bad thing.
When Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) unexpectedly find themselves expecting, they think everything will be fine and a little weight will be lifted off their shoulders with the help of Burt’s parents Jerry (Jeff Daniels) and Gloria (Catherine O’Hara). When his parents let them in on their shocking plans to move to Antwerp, Burt and Verona find their plans in shambles and consider if there is any reason left to stay in their rundown home. They decide to travel, visiting friends and family in numerous cities in hopes that they will find a new place to call home. This turns out to be much more complex than originally thought but on their journey their experiences leave them with only one place to go — a place they never considered at the start but also the perfect place to raise their soon to be family.
Sam Mendes treads on unfamiliar water in this touching dramedy that leaves you inspired by the idea of true and unusual love. He usually swims in the deep end of the pool — tackling the darker parts of peoples lives. In “Away We Go” he shows us that he can successfully portray all aspects of the human soul.
Krasinski and Rudolph are a perfect onscreen couple. Their comfortability with one another is in a way comforting to us as an audience — giving us a warm and hopeful feeling that we too may one day find this same love. Krasinski is especially rewarding with his odd, quirky and very funny portrayal of Burt.
When it comes to the best supporting actresses over the last few years, Allison Janney tops my list. She is a brilliant character actress with her ablility to tackle a broad range of unusual and entertaining roles. In her role as Lily, a loud mouthed mother of two who’s marriage is so passionless she can’t stop shitting on everything else, she is brilliant. She says whatever comes to her mind, as loud as she can, no matter how vulgar. Even though she is only in the film for about ten minutes — maybe less — she is one of my favorite characters and is sure to be one of yours.
I came into this movie expecting a lot and rightfully so. I can’t say I was completely stuffed with satisfaction, but I was well fed with it. While the writing was very well done, it had some dry parts that had more potential and could have been crafted better. However, I did thoroughly enjoy this movie and as the late Gene Siskel and the great Roger Ebert would say, “Two thumbs up.”