Review: Away We Go

“Are you watching porn?!” If you are planning on watching Away We Go anytime soon, expect to hear this statement exclaimed by anyone who happens to walk in during the first three minutes of the film. In this case my roommate’s girlfriend followed by my roommate and another friend. I felt obligated to not only tell her it was not porn but also perhaps overcompensate by stating that it was a well respected movie by the director of “American Beauty” and “Revolutionary Road.” Despite being helmed by a renowned director and boasting John Krasinski (the loveable Jim from NBC’s The Office) as the male lead, everyone still looked at me with the same skepticism as if I told them I read Playboy for the editorial content. I think they also wondered why I wasn’t wearing pants.

Away We Go is a romantic comedy about an unmarried couple who find out they’re pregnant and try to find the ideal place to raise their child. This makes the film ultimately one long road trip which is a plot device that many films before it have utilized with mixed results. And given the director’s previous, much darker films I would not have been surprised if the movie ended in the seemingly happy couple breaking up in the car right before it plunges off a cliff landing on an orphanage. Happily, that is not the case. While I’ve been a fan of Mendes’ previous work, it’s nice to see him succeed in a different, more upbeat genre.

Away We Go is a romantic comedy at heart but it seems to want to be taken more seriously than a typical relationship comedy. There are very few laugh-out-loud situations and the honestly the movie plays more like a character-driven drama with a few funny moments thrown into the mix. Once Burt and Verona (Krasinski and the always solid Maya Rudolph) discover that, with the departure of Burt’s parents to Europe, there is nothing keeping them in their current location they are free to live wherever they want. This allows them to jump from location to location and interactions with a variety of couples and characters each with their own problems and outlooks on parenting/life. It is here that Mendes gets great performances in small parts from Catherine O’Hara (a veteran who thrives in these small roles a la Christopher Guest), Jeff Daniels, Paul Schneider (Parks and Recreation), Allison Janey (Juno), and Jim Gaffigan (hotttt pockettt).

The most entertaining couple comes from Maggie Gyllenhaal as the ultra hippie/liberal college professor. She raises two children with her unapologetically unemployed husband high on their pedestal from the rest of ignorant society. Gyllenhaal perfectly nails the arrogance and holier-than-thou attitude that makes us despise her for pitying the rest of the world and their misinformed ways. Krasinki’s slow-burn reaction to her condescending behavior and his eventual blow-up is by far the most entertaining scene in the movie.

Some might argue that Burt and Verona are actually just as condescending and judgmental as Gyllenhaal’s character as they continually find fault with most of the couples they meet. The difference is that Burt and Verona also seem to be very aware of their own flaws and shortcomings. Their ultimate goal is really the happiness of their child and trying to avoid raising her in an environment that will hurt her chances at life.

Even with a great director, solid supporting roles and a perfectly fitting soundtrack from Alexi Murdoch the film would still fail if the two leads cannot make us invest in their characters. First off, as a fan of The Office it is refreshing to see Krasinski take a role that is seemingly outside of his acting box but certainly not outside of his range. After watching License to Wed I was afraid that he would continually take roles that were identical to his television character Jim Halpert. There are certainly shades of that Jim Halpert charm in Burt but Krasinski plays him as quirky, caring and a little vulnerable. I look forward to seeing what projects he selects in the future and hope that he becomes a Hollywood mainstay after his television show finishes its run (hopefully) soon.

I believe Maya Rudolph to be a very talented actress who takes good roles but never seems to find mainstream success. She played great parts in the criminally under-marketed Idiocracy and had an entire storyline cut out of Anchorman. Verona was a hard role to play and it took a while for me to like her. She refuses to marry Burt because, to put it in the simplest terms, her deceased parents cannot be there to watch. There are many people who share her circumstances that still get married so I was a little put off at what she thought made her situation any different. I believed that morally and religiously she had an obligation to get married and she could have done it for Burt’s sake since he had such a strong desire to marry her. As the movie progressed though, I began to see the different ways that someone can pledge his or her devotion and life to the respective partner. As opposed to judging them based on my own beliefs, I should accept that this situation is what works best for people like Burt and Verona. By the end of the movie, I was very attached to Rudolph’s character. Her monologue near the end of the movie along with her interactions with her sister show just how much talent she has apart from being a strictly comedic actress.

I like movies that do not feel the need to hold my hand and trust that I am intelligent enough to figure things out for myself. The film hints at infidelity and past relationships but never brings them up as more an undercurrent to the actual storyline. This makes the story more believable and the intimate moments even more romantic. The trampoline scene near the end of the film is the best example I have of this.

The film is up its own ass a little in that Mendes is very aware that he's making an indie flick. He tries a little too hard to be quirky at times but this is something I can easily overlook and at no point does it become grating like other art-house movies (I’m looking at you The Proposition). Overall, it’s a solid movie to watch alone or with a significant other. If you choose the latter option, you just may want to fast forward past the first three minutes.

Out of a total of 5, I would buy this movie 3 and a half beers and then listen to its philosophies on life and relationships. I may even act really interested.