Away We Go DVD Review

[Brando]

Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: Dave Eggars, Vendela Vida
Rated: R
Runtime: 98 mins
DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009

Imagine Jim (John Krasinski) got Pam of the TV show The Office pregnant and three months prior to the child's birth the couple went on a cross-North American road trip visiting quasi-popular destinations Tucson, Arizona, Madison, Wisconsin, and Montreal, Quebec. Replace Jenna Fischer with the equally likeable Maya Rudolph (best known for her several years on Saturday Night Live) and keep all of that fantastically awkward humor that has made The Office a runaway hit. If you can picture that, then you should have a pretty good idea as to whether or not you’d enjoy the quirky indie comedy Away We Go. Although there’s nothing particularly ingenious about a plot involving a couple’s quest to find a new home and stable friends capable of helping raise a child, Away We Go features some remarkably amusing acting performances and a robust script. It’s a good flick.

Burt Farlander (Krasinski) and Verona de Tessant (Maya Rudolph) are having a baby. Unfortunately, since Verona’s parents died when she was in college and Burt’s very odd folks are planning a two-year mid-life crisis trip to Belgium starting a month before the baby’s birth, they haven’t much of a support system at their current home outside Denver. Since Burt’s a work-at-home insurance salesman and Verona is studying to be a doctor, there’s not much keeping them there – which is both good and bad. Mostly bad, since when the baby’s finally born, there won’t be anyone to help out. Thus, Burt and Verona plan a cross-continental trip in search of one good city and one good couple.

I know what you’re thinking – what a chick flick. Indeed, any film that pivots around a pregnancy or even a baby (with the exception of The Hangover, perhaps) sounds like something suitable for viewers scarfing down Dutch chocolate ice cream while wearing pink pyjamas. But hear me out.

First, it’s a funny movie. Fans of Krasinski’s Jim on The Office will be most pleased with Burt Farlander, who for the most part is a bearded version of TV’s coolest paper salesman. Both Jim and Burt represent the kind of guy, let’s face it, many of us wish we were – smart, tall, mostly honest, and very funny. Krasinski might not be ready to replace Jason Statham in Death Race 2, but I would expect he’ll be a regular face in big box office comedies and dramas in the near and distant future.

Adding to the humor are quirky and sometimes hilarious performances from a long list of familiar faces. Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels play Burt’s parents Gloria and Jerry Ferlander, and perfectly capture the post-retirement insanity that infects empty nesters who aren’t yet ready to settle into an old folks’ home. Similarly entertaining are Burt and Verona’s next two encounters with old friends Lily (Allison Janney) and Lowell (Jim Gaffigan), Tucson residents who can’t seem to figure out why they weren’t given memberships to the local country club. Perhaps it’s because Lily tears down her tomboy daughter like it’s a Comedy Central Roast. Or, maybe it’s because Lowell, though sedate-while-standing most of the time, is a cynical twit who tunes his family out rather than deal with their many dysfunctional attributes. Either, or. The couple shortly thereafter move on to Madison, Wisconsin, feeling out family friend “LN” (Maggie Gyllenhall) and partner Roderick (Josh Hamilton) before determining that their hippy-high hate for strollers, individual sleeping arrangements, and traditional child rearing is way too weird for them.

The premise of the movie is simple and so is the comedy. Take a normal and very likeable couple played by actors who’ve traditionally played these kinds of parts and plunk them into situations where just about everyone else is off their rocker. That works really well through most of the encounters, but loses its edge soon after the film takes a turn for the serious in Montreal. There, Burt and Verona discover that college pals Tom and Munch are fairly normal people leading fairly functional lives, but the deep sadness that accompanies their inability to have a child of their own outside of adoption leaves a wide unspeakable psychological gulf between the two couples. The protagonists are then called away to Miami because Burt’s sister-in-law has left his brother and their daughter high and dry.

Unfortunately, it’s just hard to believe that one couple could be so normal while everyone else in their extended universe is messed up beyond all recognition. While all parents are nuts, none are quite as eccentric as Burt’s parents. As a graduate student who has met many professors in the past and wouldn’t mind being one in the future, I was a bit offended at the scathing portrayal of Dr. LN (Gyllenhall), whose hipster child rearing ideas are essentially incompatible with sanity, let alone the kind of intelligence required to succeed in academia. I know some people think all graduate students and professors live in ivory towers, but this is pushing it.

Video



Away We Go features some fantastic cinematography that nicely captures the mood of each encounter. There’s an excellent shot where the plane carrying Burt and Verona passes a Phoenix skyscraper, the jet’s reflection dancing across the window panes in step with the couple’s own excitement in traveling across the continent with few if any real worries.

Audio

Some great music is in here, which for the first time in ages led me to search for the soundtrack online. Here’s hoping Alexi Murdoch, who’s behind most of the songs, gets the attention he deserves.

In conclusion, Away We Go was a pleasant surprise. I honest-to-goodness picked this up and set it down again twice while strolling the aisles at Blockbuster, concerned it would be too much of a “chick flick”. Thankfully, despite some puzzling plot movements, the eccentric characters are more strength than weakness and Away We Go is a worthwhile pick-up indeed.

Overall

[Jon Liu]

Great Review, Brando. I need to put this movie in my Netflix queue.

Oh and sorry! I didn't mean to bump your review down... I just barely finished my review, too!

Keep up the good work!