'The Way Way Back' A Review

The Way Way Back is a coming of age movie set in some nameless New England beach town. The framework of the story is conventional but this trope plot is invigorated with some great acting and realistic slants on stereotypical characters.

A dorky 14 year old boy is forced to spend the summer in his mother's antagonistic boyfriend's beach house is the basic premise. Liam James plays the boy Duncan and either in life or in his performance he is especially nervous, gangly, and awkward which brings a substantial amount of authenticity to the film. Veteran actors play the adults that populate the film and for the most part are unlikable, distant, mean or sad. In his first successful attempt at playing a bad guy Steve Carell plays the asshole boyfriend- self-centered, deceptive, edgy, and ultimately pathetic. Not a likable character but a real character. Toni Collette plays Duncan's mom who seems lost throughout the film, on the rebound from her divorce, looking to have fun, and more focused on her burgeoning relationship with Carell as opposed to her son. Allison Janney plays the drunk next door neighbor who some critics have called a comedic caricature but what strikes me as something familiar and uncomfortable, a performance played not for laughs but to convey a certain type of desperation.

Duncan is ostracized by the popular hot beach crowd and finds himself drawn to the water park across town. He is befriended and mentored by Owen played by Sam Rockwell who delivers a vibrant, fast talking, joy filled, high octane performance which absolutely steals the film. Duncan get's some confidence and some friends and has a good summer. No surprise there.

The film is populated by an extensive excellent supporting cast that brings laughs as well as reality. The plot is very conventional there is no doubt. But the thing that makes the film so unique with in the genre and so engaging is its fresh take on the characters involved. Duncan has a "love interest" but the relationship is more in his head then on the screen, its a crush. Susanna played by AnnaSophia Robb seems to be only interested in being Duncan's friend because she recognized a similar listlessness in him. Rockwell's Owen doesn't give Duncan life lessons, doesn't protect him, doesn't beat up Carell for him, he simply befriends him and cracks jokes with him. The adults are kind of shitty to the kids, not in a funny way, but in a neglectful way.

There is no great resolution, nothing really happens or is accomplished. But you get the feeling Duncan, and you by extension, have grown.

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