The
Way Way Back
A
review
July
29, 2013
Viewed
July 28, 2013
****
out of *****
There is something deep
within us that sobs at endings. Why, God, does everything have to end? Why does
all nature grow old? Why do spring and summer have to go?”
Wheeler
Wheeler
Of all the seasons it is
summer that offers in promise the most growth, and the most healing. The days seem longer. The heat lends itself to reflection after
all, and as children we often wish summer would last forever. Trapped as it were in time, searching for
that one magic moment as adults when we are jolted back into memories that we
have placed on a back space in our hearts.
It is summer after all when we often make that turn toward
adulthood. It is there we find ourselves changed.
Even
though it is set in a modern setting, a
great deal of the charm of this tender and funny coming of age story, The Way Way Back lies in its ability to
not be about any particular time and its broad themes and characters seem to
belong to every place and time. This becomes critical in understanding what
makes the film work. It really does
not work as a true classic of the genre, but it has enough heart to glide over
its bumpier spots.
The movie
concerns Duncan, a quiet, introverted young man on summer vacation with his
mother, and her new jerk boyfriend and his older daughter. For most young men a summer at the beach
would be ideal, but for Duncan he is miserably treated by his mother’s
boyfriend and feels lost. His escape
comes in the most unlikely of places, a local water park where he finds friends
and a job, and himself.
A great
deal of the humor of The Way Way Back
comes from the funny exchanges of dialogue, and the way Duncan views this
strange new environment. Beneath the
humor is a great deal of emotional pathos.
After all a great deal of the film deals head on with the pain of absent
parents, and a world that is rocked by divorce. Like most coming of age films the adults are
the clueless ones, lost in a maze of booze and infidelity, and the youth are
the ones who are self-aware and capable of growth. The only adults who seem really mature are the
fun loving employees of the water park, notably a great turn by Sam Rockwell
who plays Duncan’s mentor and friend, Owen.
The film,
the brainchild of writer/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rush, who have small but
funny roles in it, is both an ode to growing up and I think a not so subtle
heavy handed attempt to draw attention to the pain of modern families and their
fractured nature.
The film
is superbly cast. The aforementioned
Rockwell is a standout. I wish the
writers had fleshed the character out a little deeper. It would have been interesting to see the
shading behind the wisecracks. Keep an
eye on young Liam James who plays Duncan.
The rest of the cast is filled by veteran performers, Amanda Peet, Maya
Rudolph, a hilarious Allison Janney, and a grown up Anna Sophia Robb who Duncan
encounters. Toni Collette is excellent
as Duncan’s mother. She gives the
character great shading, and it is easy to fill in her back story. Steve Carell’s Trent is an interesting turn
for the well-liked actor. It is a change
of pace seeing this actor playing a character that is meant to draw audience disdain.
Like most
coming of age stories this one is not dependent of its big moments, but there
are a few moments that may make one want to cheer. Summers all come to a close, and maybe those
small moments are what we all remember, the one true friend, the first kiss,
the far off glance into an uncertain future that we dream about when the days
turn cool.
Tommy
Key
Rated PG-13( thematic elements, language, drug references, sexual content)
