Movie Review: Away We Go

Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are a couple in love waiting on the birth of their first child. When their plans to move close to Burt’s parents changes, the young couple start a country wide journey to visit friends and family in order to decide where they will live and raise their child. In the process of their journey they discover how to become grown ups and face life head on.

I wanted to like Away We Go more, the film needs some pacing, particularly in the first thirty minutes of the film. The scene with Burt’s parents needed more set-up, a few more scenes prior to this one would have helped the story. The movie starts to take off and hit the right pacing in the scene with Gyllenhaal, which really works. Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition) is a great director normally but something wasn’t quite right with this film. I think the problems lie in direction and a script that needed work. The actors did their best and were a solid ensemble. Krasinski and Rudolph are paired well and give funny, touching performances. Gyllenhaal is perfect, hitting the right comic tone. Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels seem wasted here, a real shame. Alison Janney is amusing in an outrageous role as Verona’s half-sister, and Chris Messina stands out as a college friend of the couple.

Away We Go has its faults but the actors are great and the story is an interesting take on life. This is a rent it film

2009. Directed by Sam Mendes. Starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Alison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Messina and Samantha Pryor.

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