There are a wonderful pair of scenes late into Away We Go where Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are given an example of what a family is and how it works. While at a diner their college friend Tom explains, using his plate of pancakes, three sugar cubes, some toothpicks, and a drink coaster as a visual aid. You got your parents and a child and they have a shelter, but that isn't what makes a family complete. He then douses the display in an puddle of syrup, explaining that love is the glue that holds the family unit together. The very next scene Tom explains to Burt in almost heartbreaking detail how his wife just had her fifth miscarriage as he contemplates how unfair it is that a fourteen year old can get knocked up without trying, while a couple who are now in their thirties might have waited too long. I couldn't help but think that if Frank and April Wheeler (the characters from Sam Mendes harshly amazing previous offering Revolutionary Road) had heard these two stories their marriage might have been saved.
Burt and Verona are in love, and they are about to become unplanned parents (the opening "you taste different" scene is a riot). He wants to get married, she does not. They have not a clue what it means to be a parents, and are hoping that his folks will carry some of the load. Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara (the first of many quirky characters) announce they will be leaving the country for two years a month before their grandchild will be born. Convinced that they are "fuck-ups", Burt and Verona set out on a cross-country trip to get some examples from friends and family on what having a child in your life is like.
They first meet up with Verona's former boss Lilly and her husband Lowell (Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan). Lilly is one of the worst mothers to grace the screen in quite a while. She screams loud embarrassing obscenities in public that she thinks are hilarious. She ridicules her family right in front of them claiming "it's all white noise to them." I tend to think they have just put up with her merciless shit for so long they have learned to just tune her out. One afternoon with these people is more than enough for Burt and Verona.
After all that madness the film tones down briefly with a lovely scene involving Verona's sister Grace (Carmen Ejogo). The two sisters sit and caress each other in a hardware store bathtub while they reminisce about their mother who passed years ago. Then the film turns the crazy back on when we are introduced to Burt's old friend LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal). She is still breast feeding well past her children's appropriate age (super creepy), is terrified of strollers, and has no qualms about making love in front of her children or telling people that she does. Burt and Verona wisely leave before their meal is finished.
Next up is Tom and Munch, the couple I mentioned at the beginning. Their relationship is not creepy, but it is heartbreaking and therefore also no good for Burt and Verona. The last stop they make is to Tom's brother (Paul Schnieder). His wife has just left him, and he doesn't know what or how to tell his daughter. He is also very concerned about his daughter's motherless future.
In the end I came to realize that the only two sane characters in the entire film are the only characters who actually recognize they are insane: Burt and Verona! At least after their odyssey they can acknowledge that that are afraid, but also promise that they will be there for each other. I left feeling satisfied that these two characters would make wonderful parents.
It was incredibly difficult for me to put an appropriate label on this film. It's a comedy because I laughed a lot. It's a drama because there are deeply depressing moments that clicked. It's a romance because there is such a sweet and authentic tenderness between the Krasinski and Rudolph characters. The film also has numerous and even borderline disturbing moments and characters that shocked a reaction out of me (pay close attention to what the kid in the airport terminal says about babies). This film is many different things, and I enjoyed pretty much all of it. A-
0 comments:
Post a Comment