Away We Go (2009)

Away We Go (2009)

Dir. Sam Mendes


4/5 Stars

Summary: "Away We Go" is a story about a couple, Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph), who decide to move after discovering that Verona is pregnant. Determined to be close to some friends or relatives, they choose several cities around the US and one city up in Canada hoping that one of these places will provide the right environment for them to bring up their child. At each stop, they meet up with friends or family, sometimes with humorous and awkward consequences, and in the process learn more about how they do and do not want to raise their child while also coming to terms with the fact that their lives are changing.

***SPOILER ALERT***
Review: I came into this movie unsure of what exactly to expect. I personally liked how we are given an idea as to the personalites of Burt and Verona early on in the first scene. Immediately I began enjoying both characters and how well they were portrayed by Krasinski and Rudolph. If you are looking for a sappy, chick flick, love story I would probably look elsewhere as this film brings a much more human element to romantic comedy. Interestingly enough, Verona is the more even keeled person in the relationship although she continues to be affected from losing her parents while in college. Meanwhile, Burt is one of those guys who you can tell isn't super smart, but you know his heart is in the right place.

Throughout the movie, it's pretty heartwarming to watch Burt comfort (not always successfully) his wife during times when she has issues with the changes her body is going through and his antics during times to make her happy (most notably would be her insistence that he should get angry/they should argue more often).

While some of the friends and family that they meet with were interesting (both in good and bad ways) I really had a problem with Verona's ex-co-worker. It could have been the way the parents were or how they treated their kids and each other, but something just really annoyed me about them. Thankfully they were over quickly and I got to enjoy the rest of the film. All in all, it was a very interesting and thought-provoking film.

Final Thoughts

• I really liked how John Krasinski played Burt. It wasn't just in dialogue, but in his body language and actions that really brought the character together I thought. I think any big fan of "The Office" will catch glimpses of Jim, but I think the facial hair helps separate the two characters.
  
• I really loved the shots at the beginning of the film as well as towards the end of the film. How the shots were set and framed conveyed such a beautiful picture of where they came (in the beginning) as well as where they were at (towards the end). The attention to detail left me in awe.
  
• I didn't exactly like how they sort of mentioned Verona's job, but still left it vague. I still have no real clue what she does except that she draws body parts.
• I would recommend seeing this movie in theaters (although you will most likely have to search for a theater that is actually showing it)