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(More customer reviews)Like all road pictures, AWAY WE GO is about a couple in their early thirties trying to discover themselves (and what kind of home and family they want to create for themselves) through a round of visits in the sixth month of the pregnancy. I've never been a huge fan of Dave Eggers, but the script that he wrote with Vendela Vida is a brilliant one. The structure of the film is simple: Burt (THE OFFICE's Jim Krasinski) and Verona (SNL's Maya Rudolph) have moved to a small, cold house entirely so that they can live near Burt's parents. But after learning that they will be moving to Antwerp a month before their baby is due, they realize that they don't need to live any longer in a town where they have no friends and, now, no relatives. They plan a long trip that will see them visiting friends and relatives in a number of locations, including Scottsdale, Tucson, Montreal, and Miami. They see people whose lives they would like to emulate and those they would not.
And along the way hilarity ensues. The scenes between Burt and Verona are frequently hysterical, though when they are meeting their friends or relatives they tend to become "straight men" and the humor shifts over to the others. Although several people are absolutely outstanding, two actors deserve special mention. First, Allison Janney is absolutely hysterical as Verona's former boss in Chicago (more about Chicago in a second). She is, putting it simply, a nightmare of a mother. But in the most hysterical of ways. (Now on Chicago. Verona mentions working in Chicago and she is shown to be a medical illustrator. This is not unconnected with Chicago; in fact, there is a direct correlation between medical illustration and Chicago, since the most important medical illustration program is at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School. Odds are that if someone has studied medical illustration, they did it there.) The second actor who stands out is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who plays a college professor and old friend of Burt who and the embracer of more fringe and nutzoid ideas than one can imagine. Her ideas, and those of her husband, are so absurd that given gentle, placid Burt can take no more.
But the major kudos have to go to Krasinski and Rudolph, who manage to create two characters we come to like a great deal and who we very much hope will come to understand precisely what they and where they want to have it. This is an especially enjoyable film given the overwhelming amount of special effects fare at this time of the year. This is an intelligent film that also manages to be very, very funny. It is currently in somewhat limited release, but when you get a chance to see it, do so.
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John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) star in the heartfelt film that explores the comedic twists and turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America. Anticipating the birth of their first child, longtime couple Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) embark on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family in order to find their perfect home. Featuring a remarkable soundtrack and an incredible ensemble cast – including Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara and Jim Gaffigan. It’s the hilarious, witty film that critics are hailing as “absolutely extraordinary!" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)
