The Way, Way Back

Cast of Characters:
Trent - Steve Carell
Pam - Toni Collette
Betty - Allison Janney
Susanna - AnnaSophia Robb
Owen - Sam Rockwell
Caitlyn - Maya Rudolph
Kip - Rob Corddry
Joan - Amanda Peet
Duncan - Liam James

Director - Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Screenplay - Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language, some sexual content and brief drug material

      Steve Carell, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James and Academy Award nominee Toni Collette star together in the directorial debut of Academy Award winning screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's The Way, Way Back. That kid just does not look happy.

      Duncan (Liam James) is an unhappy 14 year old child of Pam (Toni Collette). Together they are vacationing for the summer at the East Coast beach house of Pam's boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell). Both Pam and Trent encourage Duncan to get out and mingle with some new friends, but for most of the time, all Liam wants to do is lie on top of Trent's car, close his eyes and belt out REO Speedwagon hits (very much out of tune too, by the way). He does gradually manage to strike up a friendship - although awkward at first - with Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), the daughter of Trent's neighbor Betty (Allison Janney).

      One day, when venturing over to the local water part, Water Wizz, Duncan meets the eccentric Owen (Sam Rockwell), who owns the joint. The two bond well and form a friendship - once again, awkward at first (seriously, this kid needs to get out more) - and Owen even offers Duncan a job at the park. Duncan, always feeling left out and uncomfortable back at the beach house, takes the job.

      Judging from the trailers of this film, they were clearly trying to market this as another Little Miss Sunshine (hell, just look at the top of the poster). It's no Little Miss Sunshine, but I still really enjoyed this film. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who both won an Adapted Screenplay Oscar along with Alexander Payne for the terrific film The Descendants in 2012) still have yet to prove themselves as directors, but they deliver some witty writing that while not as sharp as The Descendants is still effective. Liam James perfectly captures the angst and bitterness of the typical teenager of divorced parents and it's the relationships he forms with AnnaSophia Robb (who when 10 years ago everyone was screaming Dakota Fanning this and Dakota Fanning that, I said no and pointed to Robb) and Sam Rockwell (it wouldn't surprise me to find out some of his scenes were improvised) that really shine the brightest here. It's Robb's Susanna and Rockwell's Owen that really help crack Duncan's awkward shell, the latter even acting as a bit of a role model he, quite frankly, can't get back at home. Then we have Steve Carell, and seeing him play a bit of a dick was kinda refreshing. Normally, for most of his career, Carell has always played nice guys and even when they're a bit off-putting it's typically due to some form of childlike ignorance (Michael Scott from The Office is the best example). Here he comes off like a jackass right from the opening scene, but he plays it just right without going overboard. There's also a few solid scenes from Allison Janney as that annoying lush neighbor that I myself have encountered at a few of my family's New Years Eve parties.

      The Way, Way Back doesn't break any new ground by any means. The ending is certainly a bit on the cutesy side, but I still found this to be an effective and charming comedy. The cast is uniformly solid (Rockwell in particular) and the writing gives us some great laughs. It's not perfect, but it still works, and I look forward to what Faxon and Rash give us next. I give The Way, Way Back a B+ (★★★½).