Hijinks Movie Reviews: Away We Go

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Away We Go was recommended to me by a friend quite awhile ago. I finally got around to watching it recently, heading into it without any expectations, and I came away fairly impressed with it. Starring John Krasinski (as Burt) and Maya Rudolph (as Verona) as young adults in love, Away We Go is a tale about love, friendship, family, and the trials of growing up from a slightly older vantage point than your typical teen comedy. Instead of being in high school or college, these are two people in their early 30’s who are enjoying life and each other, but also have jobs and real life issues to deal with.

Released in theaters on June 5, 2009, and on DVD and Blu-ray on September 29, 2009, this movie has probably recently been moved off your local Blockbuster’s wall display (does anybody still go to Blockbuster anymore?), and it’s not any sort of ground breaking comedy, so it’s the type of movie that can fall between the cracks. Here’s the quick plot description from IMDB:

A couple who is expecting their first child travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover “home” on their own terms for the first time.

I have to say right off the bat, the main reason I found this movie so funny and sincere is because I’ve recently become a first time father myself, so I have just gone through alot of the same tribulations and experiences that they encounter in this movie. Simple things like dealing with a pregnant lady who is completely unsure of herself physically can be a really tricky conversation to maneuver. The thing is, this type of situation may only come off as uncomfortable to a young adult, or even to a couple in the dating or engagement stages, but to a couple of new parents, or even to parents-to-be, this can create plenty of humorous situations! Many of the conversations and arguments they had were so spot on, it had both my wife and I laughing pretty hard.

The other thing that I really enjoyed about this movie has to do with the fact that I just love movies with families that are just a little off. I don’t know what it is about them that attracts me so much, but they just really get me. The scene in particular that I’m referring to in this movie is when Burt and Verona go to Madison, Wisconsin to visit Burt’s psuedo-cousin, who has some very radical views about parenting. The more she and her husband go on and on about how Burt and Verona need to do all these wacked out things, to the point that Burt completely snaps… just plain hilarious. The site of that little kid screaming in excitement with his hands in the air as Burt pushed him around in a stroller was just too funny. See, now you have to go watch this movie to see what the heck I’m talking about!

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph also did a tremendous job acting like a couple in this movie. A few of their discussions sounded exactly like something my wife and I would have. Krasinski really seems to have this ‘charming, boyfriend-type, dad-to-be’ character down. I wouldn’t say he played Jim in this movie, but it would be a little bit like Jim, with a twist. And although I was never a big fan of Maya Rudolph on SNL, she was great in this role, having a few kids of her own in real life, I’m sure having a chance to put some of that craziness into a role was alot of fun.

There’s a few good laughs in this movie, alot of good supporting characters and solid actors to carry the characters along. I definitely recommend it to anybody with kids, or parents to be, you’ll get a few kicks out of it as you remember back to what it was like during the buildup to having your first child. Also, I’d like to point out that I’ve slightly modified our quick hits section, changing from the mundane “The Wife’s Thoughts” to “Thoughts From The Better Half”. Seems more appropriate, I hope you all approve.

Dave’s Quick Hits: A great ‘growing up’ movie aimed at adults, plenty of really honest scenes, I always like watching John Krasinski, 7 out of 10
Thoughts From The Better Half: I liked it alot actually, having just had my 1st child I could relate to what they were going through and some of the crazy characters reminded me of extreme versions of some of my family, although funny it’s definitely an adult movie, 7 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66% Fresh