Charming, heartfelt, thoughtful and a whole lot of nostalgic fun.
"The Way Way Back", written and directed by now Oscar Winners Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, centers around shy, 14 year-old Duncan and his trip to his mother's boyfriend's summer house. In order to escape the annoying environment he was forced into, and to escape from Trent, his mother's rude sleaze-bag boyfriend, Duncan rides his bike to a near-by water park, which is where our story begins. Duncan quickly is accepted into a group of water park employees and makes friends that accept him for who he is, making him reclaim his confidence. There have been plenty of coming-of-age stories in Hollywood, some of which are very well made. However, The Way Way Back is easily the best one I've ever seen. Rash and Faxon write a fun, witty, smooth script filled with great joy and nostalgia that everyone, young or old, can enjoy. The acting performances in this movie were all superb. Liam James stars as shy, awkward Duncan and delivers a good, subtle performance.
The rest of the cast deliver terrific performances. The cast includes Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Maya Rudolph, AnnaSophia Robb, Amanda Peet, and Rob Corddry. However, the two best performances in the film were easily Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell. Sam Rockwell stars in this movie as Owen, the main water park employee who befriends Duncan. Sam Rockwell is a great actor and truly shines as wise-cracking, fast-talking Owen. The character of Owen clearly has a lot of layers, making his character one of the most interesting characters to watch this whole year. The other performance that really stood out was that of Steve Carell.
"The Office" star plays the abusive, jerk boyfriend of Duncan's mother and does it remarkably. Steve Carell is extremely well known for playing fun-loving, nice, clueless characters. The character of Trent couldn't be further from that kind of character. Originally, I was worried about such a likable actor playing the lead antagonist. I was worried that I couldn't feel a tremendous hate for a guy that would remind me of Michael Scott. I am very glad to say I was wrong. Steve Carell really makes me hate the character of Trent with a passion. He did a great job playing a total jerk.
Overall, The Way Way Back is a thoughtful, fun movie that kids can relate to, and adults can relate to and feel an incredible since of nostalgia towards. It brilliantly mixes intense drama, hilarious comedy, and heart-wrenching sorrow. The actors do an incredible job conveying their roles and the writers did an amazing job constructing this heart-warming screenplay that everyone will love. Final Rating- A-
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