When we first meet Duncan, he is in the WAY, WAY BACK of an old station wagon (see what I did there?) looking absolutely miserable. We are instantly provided with some solid background of Duncan's life. He's super awkward. And his mom's boyfriend. SUCKS. Steve Carell plays Trent, the sucky boyfriend, who, in the first moments of the film can be heard asking Duncan how he would rate himself on a scale of 1-10. He then disagrees with Duncan's self evaluation and proceeds to offer up his own rating...which happens to be considerably low. (Who does that?) This is what the poor kid is up against. He and his sweet mother are on their way to spend the ENTIRE SUMMER at Trent's beach house! The sounds of Trent's loud, obnoxious, often drunk beach friends fill the summer air as Duncan seeks a place of his own in order to simply survive the next few weeks. When he come's across a crappy water park named the "WATER WIZZ" (which made me chuckle immaturely throughout the movie), it's as if he's discovered a magical land of misfits who welcome him with open arms. Ok, so it may not be magical, but the colorful characters he befriends (Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon) bring a special life to the screen that is ridiculous and heartwarming. Owen, the water park's cool and lazy manager, sees something special in Duncan and decides to make it his goal to help build up his self-esteem. It is at the WATER WIZZ that Duncan finally begins to find a place where he and things go together. Things begin to look up especially when he starts to spend a lit-tle more time with the drunk neighbor lady's daughter, Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb). WOOT-WOOT! Two worlds are formed. One filled with acceptance and budding confidence; the other weighed down by fears and discouragement. It's interesting to watch both Duncan and his mom attempting to fit in, with distance growing between them the deeper they immerse themselves into their new environments.
What I most appreciated about this film was it's way of telling a classic story in an original way. I didn't feel like the writers were just recycling something and expecting me to be dumb enough to think it was new. It doesn't shy away from being what it is but at the same time blossoms into its own original narrative. It is pure, honest and relatable. I think I loved all of the characters and the way they fit together, but Allison Janney as drunk-pretty-much-all-of the-time Betty is freaking hilarious. Trent was the WORST, and as my friend stated after the movie, "Almost TOO easy to dislike" with his frequent use of the word "buddy" and rude as heck statements, while claiming to want to be a "family" UGH. Aside from Trent, my only other criticisms are Nat Faxon's teeth (ok, that was mean) and the way the dudes at the water park teach Duncan how to objectify women at the water park, but in an seemingly innocent, funny kind of way.(Is there even such a thing?) The water slide scene makes girls look dumb; believing that the creeper working the slide really is just telling them to "hold" their safety. PLEASE.
The Way, Way Back is a sweet summer film with a coming of age theme at the core. However, the "coming of age" part may be relevant to both the teens AND the adults of the story. All weekend, I've been thinking about the meaning of the film's title. I've read various ideas about the philosophical basis. Maybe it's just meant to be funny. But at the end of the day, I think it might have something to do with a boy finally finding his way in life and a mother who may be in need of finding her way back.
A-
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