Away We Go

Here begins another facet of my blog--movie reviews! This weekend Barrett and I watched Away We Go starring John Krasinski (better know as "Jim" on The Office) and Maya Rudolph (formerly on SNL). While there were several things about the movie that I did not like, overall I found it well acted, well written, and very fun to watch.



The movie follows a young couple who just found out that they were expecting. After finding out that Burt's (Krasinski) parents are moving to Belgium, the couple sets out to find the perfect "home" to start their family. Verona (Rudolph) and Burt meet up with several of their friends along the way and quickly discover that the perfect home for their potentially perfect family does not exist. Away We Go has several hysterical performances from Maggie Gyllenhal and Allison Janney: the former playing the quintessential earth mother and the latter as the careless, career driven mom with a drinking problem. Throughout, Verona and Burt begin to discover the foundation and depth of their relationship.



Things I liked: The acting in the movie is superb. Krasinski and Rudolph have great chemistry, and when the movie was over I wanted to spend more time with them. Their dialogue and interaction is very natural, authentic, and pleasant to watch. I also like the style of the film. While very modern, it does not feel in your face. The movie has a naturally rambling pace which matches the wandering of the main characters. Away We Go is also very funny. They truly run the gambit of dysfunction and I laughed out loud on multiple occasions. Lastly, the music was great. Slow and folksy, it echoed the vibe of the movie.

Things I didn't like: First, the movie was very adult. There was one explicit scene in the beginning, and at times, the language was pointless bordering on excessive. I did not like that Verona irrationally (seemingly) refused to marry Burt even though they were obviously committed. This seemed incongruous with the rest of her character--like the movie was trying to be modern for the sake of being modern. Lastly, I did not like the ending. The whole movie seemed to be building up to the point that there is no perfect family so do your best. The film seemed to point to the brokenness in every family yet point to the redemptive possibility of something better. But rather than make that point by having the couple move back "home" to Colorado, they go back to Verona's childhood home on the beach in Florida. With this lackluster ending, the filmmakers make a very relational and redemptive movie trite by saying, "Hey we know we are not perfect, but this is perfect for us." Thus, they killed a lot of the nuance that I liked about the movie.

Overall, this movie was very enjoyable, and I recommend it especially if you are in the mood for an authentic and modern romantic comedy. I give Away We Go an 8 out of 10.