Away We Go

Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: A-

Despite criticisms, the recent commercialization of independent films has changed the idea of typical cinema for the average consumer. Indie-films have given cinema a lot of things, one of which is a plethora of romance movies that are appealing to both sexes, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Juno, and most recently Away We Go. These new romances take out the clichés of a proto-typical romantic comedy and replace them with a witty dialog, fitting soundtrack, and off-beat sense of humor.

Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are a thirty-something lower class couple living in Colorado to be near Burt’s parents: their closest relatives. Things get complicated when Verona gets unexpectedly pregnant and six months in Burt’s parents let them know that they’ve decided to move to Belgium. With no family left in Colorado, Burt and Verona decide to travel to see various friends and family to find the perfect place to raise their family. Each person they visit represents the different type of parents that they could become and we get some hilarious scenarios.

On their first stop, they visit Verona’s former college friend Lily (Allison Janney) in Phoenix. At first, Lily just comes off as obnoxious, but this quickly turns to grossly inappropriate after spending some of the day with her, her despondent husband Lowell (Jim Gaffigan) and her unresponsive children. Lily attempts to take the crazy cake with her over-vocalized and inappropriate points of view accompanied by her horrendous parenting. Sadly that award goes to Burt’s cousin Ellen (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who now goes by LN and raises the crazy-bar to new heights.

Burt and Verona go to Wisconsin to visit LN and have an uncomfortable first encounter when they walk in on her breast-feeding. What makes that even more uncomfortable is that her children are both far too old to be breast-fed. We quickly get the hint that LN is very invested in new-age ideals of parenting and also completely out of her mind. Her insanity peaks at the point when she and her partner Roderick (Josh Hamilton) reveal that they sleep in the same bed as their children. Even more bizarre is that they don’t feel the need to hide their “physical love” from their children.

Past the story of the film, it was gratifying for the small touches that accompany most films in the indie-romance field. The film was shot well and has a relatively unknown but fitting soundtrack to go along with it. The chapter text was also a nice touch that let’s the audience have a clear idea of the films progression. Probably the best characteristic of these movies is how relatable the issues are. The issues the characters face are normal issues at their core. This one is just about two people who want to find a place to call their home and to be the best parents they can be. Any parent could relate to their journey in a less than literal way.

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