Way In

I missed it when it was in theaters earlier this year, but on DVD I had the chance to catch the movie Away We Go. It's an independent movie about a couple expecting their first child, planning to relocate and sort of "re-start their lives." Over the course of the movie, they survey a number of cities where they have minor connections with distant family or old friends, looking for the right place to resettle. It's one of those comedies with a light touch, and a bit of heart.

The people involved were the main factor in my interest to see the movie. It's directed by Sam Mendes, the man behind American Beauty (which I loved) and Jarhead (which I mostly didn't). As it turns out, he's fairly hands off here. There's nothing showy in the staging or camera work. He gets some good performances from the cast (the mark of the best directors, in my book), but leaves no real stamp that would tell you this was a "Sam Mendes movie."

The movie stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as the couple. The two have a fun relationship on the page, and the actors have a good rapport with one another to bring that to the screen. They're fun to watch, sweet together, and easy to root for. The humor they bring is quiter and more contained than some of the crazy characters they encounter throughout the film, and they keep it well grounded.

As for those crazy characters, they're played by a wide variety of faces both familiar and unfamiliar. A lot of people turned out just for a single scene. It starts with Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels (as John Krasinski's parents), and includes among the friends (in wild and outrageous roles) Allison Janney and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Not every scene in the movie is laugh out loud funny, though there are moments.

But most of them come in the first half of the film. As it rolls on, the movie tries to turn the dial more from funny to sweet. It doesn't "ruin" things, but I did feel as though the balance was correct in the first place and should not have been messed with. The sentiments in the final act don't feel as genuine as the laughs in the first act. The movie gets somewhere "nice," but nowhere really profound.

If you like any of the actors I've mentioned, then you probably will want to check out Away We Go. It is a bit of a mixed bag, but one that tips toward good. I rate it a B-.