The Way, Way Back is now available for rental on I/O.
It's a coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old boy's summer vacation with his mother and mother's boyfriend at a beach community.
The writing is great, the acting is great, and there's never a false note. Steve Carell plays the mother's jerky boyfriend perfectly, and Toni Collette displays the proper amount of anguish as the mom. The movie is somewhat stolen by Sam Rockwell, the local water park manager who takes 14-year-old Liam James under his wing, and Alison Janney, the semi-alcoholic neighbor, who are given the movie's best lines.
The Way, Way Back is great the same way Mud is great: we feel the youngster's angst, because he's so realistic. Definitely worth seeing.
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6 comments:
Excellent movie, John, we watched it last night and thought it was excellent! Donna
Thanks Donna, glad you enjoyed it.
It seemed like they intended to make it a period piece from the 70s or 80s (who goes to water parks anymore?), but couldn't find enough wood-paneled station wagons, couldn't afford to block all the streets, and just said "Eh. We'll keep that car in the story for no good reason."
Anon --
That's a really good point. It had the feel of a period piece -- of an older guy reminiscing about his youth -- but I don't recall anything from the movie specifically setting it back a few decades.
I did go to a water park with my kids just 10 years ago; it was fun.
It did feel period piece-y but there were plenty of clues that it wasn't. Pac-Man was called "a classic". Some guy mentions the '90s nostalgically, among others. I really thought it was the early '80s when he walked into the Pizza shop where this future boss was playing pac man. The outfits, the haircuts, the sign for a pay phone, and the feeling overall. Took me right back.
Anon --
All true. My guess, they originally intended to make it a period piece but then decided it would be too much trouble, and subsequently did a somewhat patchwork job of updating it.
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