The Way Way Back

My favorite film of last year was a little coming of age film called The Way Way Back. The film has a dynamite cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Anna Sophia Robb, and Liam James.

The film focuses on Duncan (played by Liam James), a shy, introverted kid who is stuck spending the summer at his mother's boyfriend's vacation home. In addition to his mother Pam (played by Toni Collette) and her boyfriend Trent, (played by Steve Carell), there is also Trent's daughter, Steph. Also hanging around is their boozy neighbor, Betty (played by Allison Janney) and her two kids, Peter and Susanna, who is a bit of a love interest for Duncan and played nicely by Anna Sophia Robb.

Much of the source of Duncan's misery is Trent. At the beginning of the film he asks Duncan to rate himself on a scale of one to ten. Duncan says he sees himself as a six. Trent counters, telling him he's a three. In Trent's mind, he thinks he's helping the kid, but really he's just a douche, humiliating the kid time and again, including making him wear a life jacket on a boat trip. 

Soon enough, Duncan finds his way to the Water Wizz, a local water park. There he crosses paths with Owen, played wonderfully by Sam Rockwell, channelling a combination of Ferris Bueller and Bill Murray in Meatballs. Owen is the manager of the water park and takes Duncan under his wing and gives him a job at the water park. Slowly, over the course of the summer Duncan gains more confidence and starts coming out of his shell.

The film is a marvelous mixture of both funny and heartfelt. It was written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who also appear in small roles as employees at the Water Wizz. The script gives a great spin on a well worn genre, with great characters and memorable performances, especially the ones from Liam James and Sam Rockwell. 

The Way Way Back provided plenty of laughs and also shed a few tears which by my measure makes it a great movie. It's heartfelt, funny and highly, highly recommended.