‘Away We Go’ or “NBC comedy stars get existential.” (Review)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida
Starring – John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Paul Schneider and Maggie Gyllenhaal
‘Away We Go’. This is a film I’ve been eagerly awaiting to see ever since I watched the trailer for it. The trailer had that indie film spark that lured me in like a moth to a flame. After the misery-porn-epic that was ‘Revolutionary Road’, I wasn’t eager to see another Sam Mendes film any time soon (Kate Winslet’s holocaust movie last year was more upbeat than that downer flick). I think Sam Mendes is a very talented director and typically works with A-list talent, but ‘Revolutionary Road’ was a soul-crushing film I don’t care to experience again. In a possible palette-cleansing choice, his most recent film in theaters is ‘Away We Go’ and it’s a breath of fresh air in a summer full of giant robots and explosions.
What really convinced me into seeing ‘Away We Go’ was the fact it stars SNL alumni Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski of ‘The Office’. John Krasinski has charmed many people in his portrayal of smart-ass underdog office worker Jim Halpert in ‘The Office’. I’ve never been the biggest Maya Rudolph fan, but she has made a name for herself on SNL. With a script that was co-written by author Dave Eggers, ‘Away We Go’ had a lot of things going for it that paid off in full.
Together they play Burt and Verona, a couple in their mid thirties, who have been together for a while even though Verona refuses to get married to Burt. They are on the verge of having their first kid, but they are also still trying to figure life out and where to start their family. 
In my opinion, ‘Away We Go’ is best summed up as an existential-mature-romantic-road-trip-comedy. This film has a few raunchy scenes (particularly the opening scene where Burt is discussing with Verona about vaginal taste and what that means) but these scenes are all good-natured. They make perfect sense in the context of the relationship of Burt and Verona and the film. These are not meant to be gross-out jokes, they are real and honest topics couples discuss which made the portrayal of Burt and Verona feel believable and never forced.
These are two people having a mid-thirties life-crisis. They feel that their friends that are around their age have matured into responsible adults with families and adult responsibilities while they are still trying to figure things out. It’s a premise that people in their 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s can relate to. Things don’t always fall into place. Many of us are still asking ourselves the question “Is this what being an adult is like?”
The plot of the film focuses on Burt and Verona visiting friends and family in various places across North America in an attempt to find a new place to settle down. Along the way they run into a slew of memorable and quirky characters that make them question their own situational status in life. Maggie Gyllenhaal particularly stands out as an over-the-top hippy professor in Madison, Wisconsin who is an old family friend of Burt’s. Maggie Gyllenhaal is not someone who I often think of delivering strong comedic performances, but she is unexpectedly hilarious in this film.
The music for the entire film is provided mostly by folk singer/songwriter Alex Murdoch, an artist who I adore and feel is understated and melancholy. His style is a perfect fit for setting the tone and atmosphere of this type of film.
This is a very intimate film, but it’s also one of the funniest films I’ve seen so far this year. Sam Mendes paints an emotional portrait of a couple that is just looking for answers in life in the face of impending parental responsibilities. However they soon come to realize that everyone else is still trying to figure out how to live their lives, too. There are no simple answers and everyone has problems on different levels. ‘Away We Go’ is a beautiful film and is an evolutionary step in the acting careers of Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski. See this film, you will not be disappointed.
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