RSS 2.0 FeedJuly 1, 2009, Film
"Away We Go" is free of robots ... thankfully
It's a hard thing to continuously walk a thin line between drama and comedy for 98 minutes and be successful at both, but that's exactly what Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes deftly achieves with Away We Go.
It's a hard thing to continuously walk a thin line between drama and comedy for 98 minutes and be successful at both, but that's exactly what Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes deftly achieves with Away We Go.
Starring Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, Away We Go follows an expecting, thirtysomething couple deeply in love, but unsure about what the future holds for them. This is never more true than when Burt's (Krasinski) eccentric, somewhat selfish parents (brilliantly played by Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) suddenly announce they are moving to Belgium before their first grandchild is to be born.
With nothing to tether them to any particular place, Verona (Rudolph), an artist, and Burt, who's vaguely involved in selling insurance futures, decide to go on a road trip with the hopes they will find a suitable place to settle down. How they are able to afford plane tickets, railroad passes, rental carts, motels, etc. while living a lifestyle that borders on homelessness is a mystery worthy of The X-Files, however, they still somehow manage to crisscross the country visiting family members and old friends.
Among Verona and Burt's stops is a visit to Arizona where they meet a couple Verona once knew. Allison Janney of The West Wing fame delivers an outrageous performance as a shameless mother who has no qualms about describing how her prepubescent daughter has "junk in her trunk" all the while within earshot of her.
The remainder of their journey includes everything from the serious, as in a Montreal couple who are having trouble conceiving, to the bizarre - as in a quasi-cousin of Burt's whose apparent job is to let every kid, no matter what age, nurse her (played terrifically by Maggie Gyllenhall).
Rudolph, best known for her long-running stint on NBC's Saturday Night Live, delivers a strong performance as a woman who's scared of being a first-time mom, but is also able to give an understated strength to Burt in his times of fear and doubt.
Krasinski is not quite as solid with his performance as Rudolph. His comedic timing is well done but he doesn't push the boundaries much further than what he does as Jim Halpert on The Office. Still, he is able to generate enough chemistry with Rudolph, at least on an emotional level, to make them believable as a couple.
Sam Mendes's list of past credits includes Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition and American Beauty; all of which included talented casts and Oscar nominations/statues. While Away We Go is not going to get any Academy Award nods, and is not as great as Sunshine Cleaning, Mendes is able to get the best out of what he has to work with. Most importantly, he tackles theater's two faces and molds them into a nice alternative to Michael Bay Transformers 2 robots.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Away We Go receives a B+.
Away We Go is not rated and has a running time of 98 minutes.
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Indie Film Editor
Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.
In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.
Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.
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