Intelligent comedies are hard to come by these days, and those that do get made often aren’t widely distributed. This is certainly true of Sam Mendes’ “Away We Go“, which didn’t get within 50 miles of Oshkosh during its theatrical rounds. But ever since his “American Beauty”, I’ve thought that Mendes is one of our better directors. “Revolutionary Road” certainly didn’t deserve the derision it received from many critics, but that’s another story.
“Away We Go” recently came out on DVD, and while it doesn’t rise to American Beauty standards, I’m happy to report that it is funny in the same sort of biting, satirical way. Like many “dramadies”, its tone is intentionally varied, but it’s also a little uneven, with several supporting players going way over the top while others play it more naturalistically. This is true even of the protagonists: Maya Rudolph admirably holds the film together with a straightforward performance of the pregnant Verona, while John Krasinski (her lighthearted and extraordinarily loving boyfriend) comes dangerously close to caricature with his Burt. But the film made me laugh, and its undertone of melancholy gave those laughs extra depth. Here’s the trailer (which, like most trailers, makes the film look more conventional than it is):
American Beauty blew me away when I first saw it. It was one of my first DVDs I purchased.
It so happens that I have Away We Go, on a shelf near my TV in it’s cozy Netflix sleeve, waiting to be watched. It would have been my Saturday night choice also, but I got carried away watching a week’s worth of DVRd TV shows. Sounds like this would have been time better spent. Looking forward to seeing now even more after your review.
Jason: yeah, I bought American Beauty as well, and I almost never buy DVDs. Let me know what you think of Away We Go after you watch it.