Away We Go Movie Review

Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski Star in Sam Mendes Comedy - Drama

Oct 7, 2009

In Away We Go a thirty-something year old couple ask the big question "Are we screwed up?", and find out that yes, they are - but so is everyone else.

Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) and John Krasinski (The Office) star in this offbeat slice of life drama-comedy that examines their relationship as well as those of the bizarre string of people who populate their world.

Directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, Jarhead, American Beauty), Away We Go does away with studio wizardry that clogs most summer movies and concentrates on straight story telling and believable characters.

When Verona (Rudolph) and Burt (Krasinski) discover they are pregnant, they begin to question where their lives are going. Unmarried and in their mid-thirties, the couple announce their news to Burt’s parents Gloria and Jerry, played beautifully by scene-stealers Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels, who in turn reveal they will be relocating to Belgium the same month the baby is due.

In one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie, what should have been a happy occasion for Verona and Burt propels them into the next phase of their lives.

Feeling abandoned by the two people closest to them, Verona and Burt come face to face with the burning question every thirty-year-old eventually encounters – Are we screw ups?

And so begins their voyage of discovery to find the perfect home for their expanding family. Together they travel from Phoenix to Montreal to Miami in search of a place to call their own, encountering friends and family along the way, only to discover that everyone has their own set of problems and in their own way, everyone is some sort of f**k up.

Away We Go tackles the big questions of parenting, marriage, sexuality, friends, family, new relationships and newly broken relationships, love and destiny in an often funny and always charming manner without becoming unbelievable.

At times Away We Go is drop dead hilarious, at others bawl your eyes out sad, but mostly this movie is uncomfortable, just like life. Unsure at times whether it’s better to go lie down and cry, drink yourself to death or just throw your arms up in defeat and laugh, Away We Go is a slice of life that everyone can connect with.

Beautifully acted throughout, Maya Rudolph, an SNL alumni, tones down the outrages portrayals of characters she created during her stint on the live sketch show and plays a softy with a tough skin dealing with how to become the best mom she can be.

Meanwhile John Krasinski plays a goofy good guy who cherishes the ground his girlfriend walks on, even though she refuses to marry him.

Told simply but playfully, this movie portrays modern life with no set rules or guidelines and thankfully avoids the preachy road it could have travelled.

While the ending spoils the movie with pure Hollywood sap, the ride there more than makes up for the predictable denouement.

Away We Go suffered from big movie shuffle when it was released in theatres in the height of summer 2009’s blockbuster season. Now out on DVD, this little movie gets a well-deserved second chance

The copyright of the article Away We Go Movie Review in Romantic Comedy Films is owned by James W. Coates. Permission to republish Away We Go Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.