Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Directors: Jim Rash, Nat Faxon
Quick Impressions:
My husband and I have been wanting to see The Way, Way Back since way, way back (at the beginning of the summer). The more often I saw the theatrical trailer, the more it grew on me (which is odd because I usually have the opposite reaction). We actually planned to see The Way, Way Back last week, but then I realized that Fruitvale Station was out, and I’ve already missed seeing too many small, arthouse movies on the big screen this summer by not making it to the theater fast enough.
Both my husband and I really enjoyed The Descendants—honestly, though Jean Dujardin was great in The Artist, I would have given the Oscar that year to George Clooney—and we’re also both fans of Steve Carell and suckers for a well told coming of age story
(or really just any coming of age story. We go to see all the coming of age stories these days. If there are socially awkward kids off having adventures on their own, then we’re there.)
As we left the theater tonight, my husband said, “That was a great movie. At least, I thought it was really good. I’ve been wanting to see it all summer.” A huge surge of relief rushed over me. I was like, “Really? I thought you seemed more interested in 2 Guns,” (and don’t get me wrong. It’s hard to resist the promise of Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg coasting on charm through a last big hoorah of summer, but we all must make heart-wrenching choices in this life; nobody can see them all.)
“That’s because I didn’t know what The Way, Way Back was,” my husband replied, like I really should have known. “You should have said ‘the waterslide one.’”
The Waterslide One would have been a more descriptive title for sure. Actually, the whole time I’ve been writing this, I’ve been feeling like an idiot for not realizing until the movie was over that The Way, Way Back could be a direct reference to the very last scene in the film. But now that I type it out, I am suddenly aware—how could I possibly have realized something about the final scene before the movie was over? (I can identify with Duncan. People urge me to speed up my end of conversations all the time. Sometimes I’m even forced to tell myself. But the problem is, I just don’t listen!)
Anyway, from the first scene to the last, we both loved The Way, Way Back and plan to buy it when it’s out on Blu-ray.
The Good:
So apparently seasonal amusement parks are where all the really funny people work. At Adventureland, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are calling the shots. At Water Wizz, you’ll find Sam Rockwell and Maya Rudolph.
Recently, Sam Rockwell has been worming his way increasingly into my affections. For most of his career, I’ve found his performances difficult to enjoy. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always acknowledged that Rockwell’s a good actor, but ordinarily his performances give me an unwell feeling of deep, nagging creepiness. This can’t be his fault. I really don’t understand it myself. I have the same reaction to the not-bright-enough lighting in certain discount stores. It almost looks the color of despair, and it gives me a panic attack. (See, this is all very weird. Surely it can’t be blamed on Sam Rockwell.)
My point is, after seeing Rockwell’s fine, practically movie-making performance in Seven Psychopaths, I’ve been very curious to see more from him, and he is just awesome here. He has great screen chemistry with Maya Rudolph (also delightful in this. I always find her funniest when she’s playing the straight man), and he’s also wonderful in his scenes with young Liam James who plays Duncan, the film’s fourteen-year-old protagonist.
Interacting with Owen (Rockwell’s character) clearly cheers up Duncan, and Rockwell’s scenes provide most of the moments of mirth and swelling happiness for viewers as well. Writers/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash also play employees at the waterpark, and they’re pretty funny, too (particularly Rash who seems like one possible older version of Duncan, to the point that my husband and I wondered if the movie is autobiographical).
Outside the microcosm of Water Wizz, the cast is pretty outstanding, too. Playing Duncan’s mom’s new(ish) boyfriend Trent, Steve Carell is pitch perfect as a self-absorbed jerk with tons of issues of his own who tries to make himself feel big by belittling and deflating Duncan. Trent has obviously missed the memo that when you’re in a serious relationship with somebody with a kid, you’re really in two serious relationships, each requiring care and attention. The weird part is that Trent does seem genuinely invested in keeping Duncan’s mom in his life. He also seems to genuinely enjoy interacting with Duncan. He likes having the opportunity to imply that he doesn’t want him around. He deliberately strikes up conversations with Duncan designed to drive home the point that he doesn’t enjoy talking to him. With time and opportunities, Trent could perhaps make the impressive leap from distant jackass to abusive father.
The character is quite fascinating, highly believable and yet also so gross and awful. Steve Carell is phenomenal in the role, playing against type with great success. (I’ve seen Carell play an unusually wide variety of characters, but he almost never plays anyone so thoroughly unsympathetic.) From the first scene of the movie, we want to see Trent get some kind of comeuppance. We don’t want him to change. We want him to disappear. Trent thinks that’s what he wants from Duncan, too, but I don’t believe him. He doesn’t really want Duncan to disappear because he enjoys humiliating him. In the first
scene, the movie immediately reveals Trent’s true colors. He’s that one oddball guy who reads Harry Potter and aspires to be like Uncle Vernon (and you know, he can’t even manage that because at least Mr. Dursley was attentive to his own kid).
Anyway, this is the most despicable I’ve ever seen Steve Carell (which is fairly impressive considering he plays the titular role in two movies called Despicable Me). I read recently that to get Carell to agree to do the movie, they filmed near the town where he would be spending the summer anyway. Good choice.
For some reason, Toni Collette seems like the perfect choice to play Duncan’s conflicted mother Pam. (I mean when I saw her in the preview, I simply thought, Of course.) Pam is another great character because even though we sympathize (even empathize) with her son and appreciate that her lack of courage is putting him in a terrible situation, we still sympathize with her, too. Part of that at least must come from Collette’s performance. She
makes Pam extremely likable and for the most part truly pitiable. Once huge strength of the screenplay is that the audience is given enough telling moments with Pam to form an understanding of her character and motivations even though Duncan himself lacks the insight and point of view to see her as a person instead of a parent.
Another person who seems like a given to show up in this film is Allison Janney. When she pops up as the wacky, drunken neighbor, it’s a surprise to no one. Frankly I would have been surprised if Allison Janney had not appeared in this movie. Don’t ask me why. It just seems like a perfect fit for her. She always shows up in movies like this, and that works for me because I adore her. I’ve never seen her give a performance I didn’t like. She has a way of making everything more fun, increasing the comedy of a situation without even slightly detracting from the drama. She’s pretty great as Betty, the newly divorced mom in the beach house next door. I also loved River Alexander as her son Peter. The two worked well as mother and son. They were totally believable, similar, and hilarious. Outside the water park, Janney’s character is the only adult who leaves a positive impression. (Collete’s Pam is pitiable, but she makes us feel sad and confused. Janney just seems like a nice person and loving parent who is going through a rough patch because of a marriage that couldn’t work out for reasons beyond either spouse’s control.)
I’ve always loved AnnaSophia Robb. When we took my stepson to see A Bridge to Terabithia when he was little, I thought, Wow, she’s so cool. It would be so awesome to have a daughter like her. And when I did have a daughter, she used to love watching Because of Winn-Dixie when she was two. Robb’s part here isn’t huge, but she has some very nice moments. I particularly like the little side plot about the ghost crabs. (It’s less a plot than a recurring topic of conversation, but it gives her something interesting to say while she and Duncan are emoting.)
The movie also has a lovely score by Rob Simonsen and captivating (if not mind-blowing) cinematography.
Best Scene:
I’ve talked about everyone in the cast but Liam James as Duncan. (Well, I haven’t talked much about Amanda Peet or Rob Corddry who play less sympathetic characters with smaller but significant roles. For me the “Carry a Laser” bit was pretty much the highlight for that pair. I’m not slamming their performances or anything. I just didn’t find the characters as interesting.)
But anyway, Liam James as Duncan. He’s very good. I’ve known kids like that. To some degree, I’ve been a kid like that at moments. (Sometimes still I have difficulty maintaining a “normal” looking resting facial expression. For some reason, I always tend to look anxious or terrified unless I make a point of pretending to be neutral.) Most of the time, I wasn’t quite as awkward as Duncan, but I definitely can relate to having less than stellar social
skills (and for some reason less social intuition than others). Often I’m too quiet, and then once I start talking, I can’t stop. And I’m also the type who takes sarcasm seriously on occasion. (This isn’t because I don’t understand sarcasm. It hardly ever happens with close friends or family, but often I find social interaction with casual acquaintances and strangers overwhelming and taxing—especially if it’s really sunny. I mean, I’m already worried the whole time about what my resting face is looking like, which is extra hard if you’re squinting. Plus if I don’t know people, I just tend to assume that they expect me to believe them when they tell me things. I figure I can always sort the truth out later. It’s much better to take sarcasm seriously occasionally than to laugh inappropriately at someone’s seriously offered sentiments.)
James is thoroughly convincing in the role of Duncan. I particularly liked the actor’s perpetual slump, very realistic posture for the character, I thought, very convincing.
Duncan has so many fantastic scenes in this movie. The part where he dumps the food off his plate is pretty powerful. But if I had to pick a best scene, I’d be torn between his dramatic, screaming blow up at dinner (if I were him, I’d have blown up much sooner), and his talk with Sam Rockwell after the party.
Probably the talk after the party is truly the strongest scene of the film. For one thing, Rockwell is in it. But more than that, it’s the first time Dylan has told us what he feels about what happened in the first scene. James plays the moment perfectly.
Best Scene Visually:
Nat Faxon and Jim Rash seem to have a knack for endings. The final scene of The Descendants was perfect, so powerful, so simple, by far the highlight of the film. The last scene of The Way, Way Back is similarly resonant (though not quite as powerful).
This is a film that does so much of its storytelling non-verbally (which is fascinating considering how quiet Duncan is so much of the time). Most of the moments that pack the most emotional punch are nonverbal. When Duncan clears the table, when Duncan dumps his plate into the trash. I also loved one particular scene when we see Duncan’s face sharing the frame with the distant beach house behind him.
Funniest Scene:
I love the scene when Sam Rockwell’s character clears a blockage in the slide. In this scene (and in earlier ones) the names he spouts out are just hysterical, but even funnier is that people respond to them. The whole thing is so joyously amusing, so delightfully adolescent, but then there’s such a dramatic turn at the end of the scene that makes it even more worthwhile.
The party scene is also great, and my husband and I really laughed at the girl’s boyfriend who was caught in the middle of “tossing.”
Best Action Sequence:
The scene about taking away the cardboard has its merits, but it’s hard not to think of the moment when Duncan makes a break for it to face the one big challenge that he has been dying to attempt before saying good-bye.
The Negatives:
There’s really nothing I didn’t like about this movie. Probably it’s greatest flaw is that it’s not anything ground-breaking or earth-shatteringly new. There have been a lot of coming-of-age movies in theaters lately. You’d think everyone would have grown up by now after so many, but I guess not.
I do wish we had a little bit more background about Duncan’s not-yet-stepsister and her winner of a dad Trent. I’d like some more insight into what makes those character’s tick. (Well, I mean, seeing her dad in action gives us a big clue about what’s motivating her, but what’s actually up with him?)
Some people may also find that the ending is a bit too unresolved for their liking. I think the film ends well, but it certainly does leave some things open to interpretation, and it definitely doesn’t go out of its way to wrap up every possible loose thread.
Overall:
I really loved The Way, Way Back, but I kind of knew that I would the whole time. I usually enjoy movies like this—character driven films that sort of seem like comedies but are really funny dramas in disguise. This is the kind of movie that probably won’t win Oscars (though I suppose you never know) but will never be the biggest box office hit of summer either. And yet it’s solidly entertaining, well written, and extremely well-acted by a sublimely talented ensemble cast.
If you liked the preview, then you’ll probably like The Way, Way Back. We loved it from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, I got hit in the hand with the bathroom door when two rambunctious women burst through it simultaneously as I was trying to exit. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were ER nurses used to opening doors by crashing gurneys through them as urgently as possible. Of course, it’s also possible that they’d just had a bit too much to drink. Either way, they enjoyed The Way, Way Back, too. In fact, they kept laughing even after the movie had ended, and I also left the theater feeling very positive and upbeat (until the door crashed into my hand).