Allison Janney

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Away We Go’ Proves Impossible to Resist

BrianTT — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:10:21 -0600

CHICAGO – Filmmaker Sam Mendes has always been drawn to telling stories set in a dysfunctional America where the sanctity of marriage is anything but “sanct.” For the past decade, he has specialized in brutally frank social satires about the deterioration of the American family. His work is nearly always riveting, but could never be described as “feel good”…until now. The happily unmarried couple in “Away We Go” sharply contrasts with the unhappily married couple of “Revolutionary Road.” It is a rather marvelous lark, and easily the most optimistic film Mendes has ever made.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are two enormously appealing actors, and they finally get the opportunity to prove it onscreen. They perfectly capture the excitement and uncertainty of a couple in their early thirties desperate to prove to themselves that they are not “f—k-ups.” With their first child on the way, Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) travel across the country to find the ideal home. This sets up the familiar whimsical plot structure involving a series of vignettes in which various couples are met and judged by our protagonists. Other films with a similar premise have been spectacular failures (“North,” anyone?), but the script by real-life couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida is far more sophisticated and endearing than one would expect.

Away We Go will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 29th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

Some criticism has been aimed at the lead characters (and filmmakers) for “condescending” to the people they meet on their journey. I understand this criticism in theory, since I’ve found myself occasionally annoyed by the idealized treatment of Krasinski on “The Office,” where the viewer is invited to laugh at his superiority to the comic grotesqueries that surround him (Rainn Wilson is always the “PC” to Krasinski’s “Mac”).

Away We Go will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 29th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

Here, however, I had no problem identifying with Krasinski and Rudolph, partly because I never found their characters to be condescending. With their lives teetering on the brink of adulthood, they are merely searching for their identity as parents, and it’s only natural that their view of other families would be heightened, and even exaggerated. They are such sweet, sane and well-intentioned individuals that it’s impossible not to root for them.

Every supporting role provides a mini-showcase for some of America’s finest character actors. Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels are so funny as Krasinski’s self-absorbed parents that I would happily follow them into a movie of their own. Allison Janney earns some of the film’s biggest laughs as Rudolph’s former co-worker, who turns out to be a vulgar loudmouth, blissfully unaware of the damage she inflicts on her mortified kids and brooding husband (ever-pale Jim Gaffigan). There’s also some genuinely touching work from Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey as an infertile couple who care for a diverse flock of adopted children. All of these characters could be dismissively labeled “quirky,” but they contain more soul than the so-called people who populate so much mainstream fare.

Away We Go will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 29th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

There’s a wonderful moment when Krasinski fakes a loud fight with Rudolph just so he can hear their baby move through a stethoscope. They are in such euphoric love with each other that the very act of “fighting” seems alien to them. But their relationship has yet to be tested with the responsibility of family life, and their future remains uncertain even at the final fade-out. But unlike all previous Mendes films, this one leaves the viewer believing in the possibility that love can endure…even in a nation of “f—k-ups.”

“Away We Go” is presented in gorgeous 1080p High Definition with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio that accentuates the rich detail in Ellen Kuras’s cinematography. It is accompanied by English, Spanish and French DTS 5.1 tracks. Special features include two featurettes, and enlightening feature-length commentary from Mendes, Eggers and Vida. Viewers can also collect their favorite scenes and share them with friends online via BD Live, which is an appropriate feature for this film, considering its episodic structure.

‘Away We Go’ is released by Universal Home Entertainment and stars John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O’Hara, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Chris Messina. It was written by Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida and directed by Sam Mendes. The Blu-Ray and DVD will be released on September 29th, 2009. It is rated R.

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

‘Away We Go’ From Sam Mendes a Slightly Bumpy Trip Worth Taking

Ebeth — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:21:24 -0600

CHICAGO – Has life always been this difficult? Doesn’t anybody ever stay together anymore? Have the pressures of modern times turned the majority of us into screw-ups?

Rating: 3.0/5.0

“Away We Go” is a chronicle of couple – Burt and Verona (John Krasinski of NBC’s “The Office” and Maya Rudolph of “Saturday Night Live”) – attempting to resolve just that. A narrative map of stops along the road to self-discovery, the film is an exploration of the complications and confusions in modern relationships.

Thirty-somethings Burt and Verona – a pair stunted in their college days (living with borrowed furniture and a cardboard window) – are expecting. What they’re not expecting is to be left completely alone in the venture as Burt’s parents (played by Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels) announce their planned move to Belgium one month before the baby’s due date.

Read Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Away We Go” in our reviews section.

Unsettled by this lack of support with no family or friends left in the area, the couple sets off on a city-by-city tour with the goal of finding their niche: a new job, new community and new home all their own.

Each stop on their itinerary is an intended visit to a mosaic of colorful “characters”. A credit to writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, the film excels in finding humor in the quirky: those crazed to the point of awkwardness but sane just enough to function in society.

“Away We Go” from director Sam Mendes stars John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Jeff Daniels, Jim Gaffigan, Catherine O’Hara and Chris Messina. “Away We Go,” which opened in Chicago on June 12, 2009 and opens in other limited cities on June 5, 2009, is rated “R” for language and some sexual content.

Read Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Away We Go” in our reviews section.

Maya Rudolph (left) stars as Verona and John Krasinski (right) stars as Burt in Sam Mendes’ “Away We Go”.
Image credit: François Duhamel

Read Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Away We Go” in our reviews section.

Color-Pencil Animated Opening Credit Sequence For ‘Juno’ Surfaces Online

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:08:03 -0700

The color-pencil animated opening credit sequence for “Juno” has surfaced online thanks to its creator: Shadowplay Studio. I learned about this from a Dec. 27 post on /Film.

Watch the “Juno” opening sequence here!

Ellen Page and Michael Cera for “Juno” on Sept. 8, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
Since “Juno” director Jason Reitman also directed “Thank You For Smoking,” you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Shadowplay is also responsible for creating that film’s opening titles, too.

Diablo Cody (left) and Ellen Page for “Juno” on Nov. 5, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
There’s universal agreement (as much as there can be universal agreement) that “Juno” is one of the best films of the year and perhaps the best of the independents.

Jennifer Garner for “Juno” on Sept. 8, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Ellen Page (left) in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Reitman says the following about the sequence in a blog post from Aug. 2007:

They were created by Shadowplay Studio, which is the same team who did the badass opening titles for “Thank You For Smoking”.

I met them back in 2000 when we both had short films playing the festival circuit. Their short (“This Guy is Falling”) was a really impressive half live-action/half animation piece they did in college.

When they did “Thank You For Smoking,” the titles were rendered on a series of computers in one of their mother’s living rooms. Now they got a fancy place in an art-deco building on Wilshire.

The “Juno” opening titles are out of control. I don’t want to give away too much, but the whole process was really labor intensive.

The Shadowplayers would have parties in which friends and family would help construct the whole thing. I can’t wait for you all to see it and then I can explain how it was done.

My interview with “Juno” star Ellen Page and “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody can be found here. The HollywoodChicago.com film review of “Juno” by Shane Hazen can be found here.

“Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Ellen Page and Michael Cera in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Jennifer Garner (left), Jason Bateman and Ellen Page in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb

From left to right: J.K. Simmons, Ellen Page, Allison Janney and Jason Bateman for “Juno” on Nov. 5, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com