Movie Review – Away We Go

Away We Go (2009) – Burt (John Kasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are very much in love.  When they discover they are pregnant it suddenly dawns on them that they’re not quite sure what to do next.  A cross country trip takes them to the homes of family and friends who slowly hone the couples understanding of what it means to be “family”.

There is a time in life, between the end of school and when life gets serious, where you can still live your life as a “not quite grown up”.  It’s a time period that can be incredibly free and more than a little terrifying.  Burt and Verona have managed to extend that part of their lives into their early 30s.  But a baby suddenly means that certain questions can no longer be avoided.  They are naive, self centered and just a little vacuous.  Their response is to plan a rather optimistic tour of the nation that they expect will result in Burt getting a better paying job and them finding the “perfect” place to live.

The supporting cast in this one is really spectacular.  Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels play Burt’s completely self absorbed parents.  Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan play a former co-worker of Verona’s and her husband.  Janney’s Lily is a loud, vulgar disaster of a mother, while Harrigan’s Lowell is dour and pessimistic.  Verona’s sister Grace (Carmen Ejogo) is one of the few normal people they meet on the trip.   Burt’s childhood friend LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal) shows them another kind of family that pushes them both a little over the edge.  It’s one mess after another until they finally land with Burt’s brother.  His brother is faced with raising his daughter alone after his wife walks out on them.

There’s a really neat little touch to this movie.  Burt and Verona are all those things listed above at the start of the movie.  They were so annoying that I was pretty sure I was going to hate the movie.  But as the action sweeps them along, they learn and grow.  At the beginning you’re sure they are going to be the parents that ends up with children who have to take care of them.  By the end there’s the real hope they might be able to pull it off.  Neither Rudolph or Krasinski have movie star good looks.  They are attractive, normal people and that plays to the advantage of the story.  These feel like real people struggling through a very big challenge.  Being a parent is the hardest job on the planet and there’s no training available for it.  All you can do is hope and love and hang onto your loved ones.

Director Sam Mendes does a very nice job of letting the story tell itself.  It isn’t a perfect movie, the story lurches a few times along the way.  In the end the combination of winning leads, good direction and a story with some real heart makes it well worth the time to watch it.

Rating – **** Recommended