Review by Bob
Ignizio
A
indie coming of age story that has an obvious affection for eighties
teen comedies, THE WAY WAY BACK
centers on Duncan (Liam James), a nondescript 14 year old whose
recently divorced mom Pam (Toni Collette) is inexplicably dating
major douchebag Trent (Steve Carell). We see just how much of a
douchebag Trent is in the opening scene when he asks Duncan to rate
himself on a scale of 1 to 10. After much prodding, Duncan grudgingly
offers up a 6. Trent tells him he's at best a 3, making the chances
that Trent is going to be the male role model he clearly needs pretty
slim.
Trent has taken
Pam and Duncan, along with his own daughter from a previous marriage
Steph (Zoe Levin), to a New York seaside vacation town in the hopes
that everyone will bond together as a family, albeit under his terms.
Not surprisingly Duncan isn't exactly on board with this plan,
although there is one bright spot: he has the lovely and slightly
older Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) for a neighbor, and she doesn't treat
him like a complete loser.
Still,
Duncan is in need of a serious self esteem booster, and he finds it
when he strikes up a friendship with Owen (Sam Rockwell), a likable
loser who works at the local water park and helps Duncan get a job
there. Owen is basically Bill Murray in MEATBALLS
or Chevy Chase in CADDYSHACK,
an anti-authoritarian guy who likes a good time but isn't always as
responsible as he should be who ends up becoming an unlikely role
model for a young protagonist in need of one.
The portions of
the film involving Duncan and Owen goofing off at the water park work
the best, providing plenty of laughs with just a touch of pathos.
Owen sees a younger version of himself in Duncan and tries to help
him become a better man, which of course in makes Duncan a better man
as well in the process. The young budding romance between Duncan and
Susanna works, too, coming across as sweet and authentic.
What
doesn't work is the material between Duncan, Trent, and Pam. Trent
doesn't have even a thin outer layer of charm; he's just a dick, and
he doesn't do anything to hide it. That makes Pam a clueless doormat,
and yet the movie seems to want to present her as smarter and
stronger than that, and it just doesn't jibe. And while the movie
doesn't spend that
much time with Trent's developmentally arrested vacation cabin
neighbors, every minute spent with them feels like one minute too
many. The film might well have been better off if it hadn't tired so
hard to be meaningful and just gone for the laughs, but those gripes
aside, THE WAY WAY
BACK
still manages to entertain more often than not. 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.
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