Screenwriters Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (alongside Alexander Payne) made waves last year, so to speak, with their terrific Hawaiian-set drama The Descendants, which won them the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar along with a few other nominations. Now they’re back with Sundance favourite The Way Way Back, another acutely observed and utterly charming comedy drama boasting a great cast and more heart and soul than most other movies this year.
The plot centres on Duncan (Liam James), a shy 14-year-old who is forced to spend the summer with his mother (Toni Collette), her controlling new boyfriend (Steve Carell) and the boyfriend’s daughter (Zoe Levin) at their summer house after his parents split up. Not exactly fitting in, Duncan finds solace at the local Water Wizz water park where he unexpectedly befriends the manager Owen (Sam Rockwell).
It’s hard not to think of the likes of Little Miss Sunshine, Juno and the aforementioned The Descendants when watching The Way Way Back (all of which were released by Fox Searchlight, the indie arm of 20th Century Fox), as well as a host of other coming-of-age comedy dramas. The real success of this film is how it treads familiar ground in a way that doesn’t feel tired or lazy. Rash and Faxon (who also have small starring roles as two Water Wizz workers) find new things to say using relatable situations, happy or sad, and are able to make it just the right amount of quirky without it being irksome. They’re just as adept at making you smile as they are at getting at life’s serious little truths.
The cast is absolutely spot on. Relative newcomer Liam James is a bit of a find, completely embodying the quirky awkwardness of the central character. On the surface he’s a little too closed off to be truly likeable but it becomes clear very quickly that that’s entirely the point and it’s a pleasure seeing him develop as it goes on. Steve Carell is playing against type as his “new father” who thinks that telling his potential stepson that he’s a 3 out of 10 is good advice; this isn’t the affable nice guy or the loveable buffoon we’ve come to know him as over the years.
Allison Janney is clearly having a lot of fun playing this ultra-outgoing, loud and chatty neighbour who is never stuck for words even when it would be better if she just shut up in any given situation. Toni Collette is often heartbreaking as Duncan’s mother caught between appeasing her uncomfortable son and making her new family work. And Sam Rockwell, the film’s obvious highlight, is an utter joy to be in the company of as he exudes effortless charm and provides much of the film’s whip-sharp quotable lines.
The cast is rounded off by more talented people like Amanda Peet and Rob Corddry, playing a married couple with more to their storyline than meets the eye; AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Duncan’s love interest in a subplot that could have been obtrusive but only adds to the charm; and Maya Rudolph as one of the water park’s employees getting sick of Rockwell’s immature antics. They are all very much part of an ensemble, blending in and complementing each other’s performances rather than becoming the point. These are believable people well rounded by a script that is just quirky enough to make them stand out from the crowd while still keeping them firmly grounded in reality. That’s a hard thing to pull off, as many films that have tried this sort of thing in the past have shown, but Rash and Faxon do so with aplomb.
The Way Way Back gets at something truthful about the awkward teenage years of growing up, a child adjusting to a parental breakup and, as the title suggests, finding your own way in life. All of which is set to a cracking soundtrack and ending on a rather perfect note that, much like The Descendants, is poignant and makes you reflect on what’s come before. Is it breaking any particularly new ground? Not really but it does what it does very well, making for a heartfelt and funny dramedy that would be pretty hard to dislike.
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