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

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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.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
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.
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.
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.
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

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