Posted on: July 11, 2013
- In: Friday Night at the Movies!
- Leave a Comment
The Way, Way Back
Running time: 103 minutes
D: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Starring: Liam James, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Allison Janney, Amanda Peet, Rob Corrdry, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph.
Amidst Hollywood gloss between the releases of both Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger and the upcoming Pacific Rim there is this film. This is perhaps one of the only films, so far this year, with heart (something most coming-of-age films lack and movies in general). Liam James plays Duncan, on summer vacation with his divorced mother (Toni Collette) , her new boyfriend Steve Carell– here, in an unlikely role– and his brat of a daughter. The family sets out to spend a summer near a beach side town. Needless to say, Duncan is largely unhappy until he finds a job at a local water park where he meets the likes of Sam Rockwell (manager of the park) and the likeable Maya Rudolph.
Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney (as the sort-of drunk neighbor) are brilliant and funny and a fun dynamic to a film that would largely come off as boring and dull. Carell as choice for antagonist father figure is hard to believe at times because of his previous on-screen roles. Its hard not to picture him as anything but his crazy and silly characters. He plays it fine here, but there is an air of unbelievability. The film is at its best when it’s honest through the relationship between Liam James and Rockwell. In fact, as I watched the film I began to lose interest in the core story and instead found secondary characters much more interesting. That is an issue when your focus is the relatively unknown Liam James as he is crushed by the presence of Sam Rockwell. If it wasn’t for him or Allison Janney (or even Toni Collette) this film would flounder and sink to the bottom of an obscure public pool. To be honest, whoever this Liam James actor is was a bad choice he either plays boredom and passivity well or he really is that uninteresting as an actor. Overall, his character transformation, taking on the confident paradigm that Rockwell’s personality exudes and role as father figure, adds a likeability towards the latter third of this film.
Grade: C+
By: J. Carlos Menjivar
Source:
http://zerotoclassic.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/review-the-way-way-back-4-july-2013/
The News from http://funyhalloween.blogspot.com