REVIEW: Away We Go

Away We Go (2009): Dir. Sam Mendes. Written by: Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida. Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph. Rated R (language and some sexual content). Running time: 98 min.

3 stars (out of four)

After critiquing the American family with satire (American Beauty) and, more recently, tragedy (Revolutionary Road), director Sam Mendes finds himself working within similar thematic territory, this time with a lite-indie comedy. Away We Go centers on a young couple in need of a place to raise a family and call home and, as so many movie-Americans do, they go about their search with a road trip.

The couple is John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (SNL), who lend a great deal of credibility and humanity to their roles. Kudos especially to Mr. Krasinski for not making me think of Jim Halpert once (Ok, maybe once he does that “Jim look”). Together the two create a nice pair, both touching and charming in their intimate and comedic moments, respectively. The heart of the film’s weaknesses however, lies in the supporting performances.

Divided into five parts, each a stop on the trip, the majority of the film has the couple spending time with various friends and relations, which allows a large supporting cast (including Jim Gaffigan and Maggie Gyllenhaal), to flex their comedic muscles. Unfortunately, these scenes too often fall into the territory of caricatures. Mr. Mendes’s own American Beauty was filled with deeply flawed, but always wholly human characters. Their believability and humanity was precisely what allowed the director to critique their lives. Away We Go, however, merely uses its side characters as fodder for snide chuckles as the culturally superior couple judges each city on the basis of how their acquaintances lead their family lives. The film’s most honest moments occur in the Montreal segment, with Chris Messina (Six Feet Under) in particular generating laughs out of an honest portrayal. But what’s Mr. Mendes’s thesis here? Americans are happier in Canada? Were it not for the final tender moments, I’d be inclined to say so.

Still, the film is likable enough on the strength of its leads, and even its more hipper-than-thou moments provide some laughs. It has all the typical charms of a quasi-indie movie from a clever script to a soundtrack made up of songs you’d find on Wes Anderson’s iPod. The film also succeeds completely in its sweeter moments. Moving at a brisk pace, the leads go from disillusionment to contentment in a mere 98 minutes, a short enough runtime that its weaknesses are not as memorable as the fuzzy feelings the final moments create. By the end of the film, we’ve reached Sam Mendes’s true thesis: It’s ok to start an American family, as long as it’s a fun, quirky one.

- Steve Avigliano, 6/26/09