Review of Away We Go

Movie #21 - Away We Go

This movie is genius. The writing is phenomenal. The acting is perfect.

Away We Go isn't a very well-known movie, but it's one that I think should get a bigger following. Away We Go is a film about finding where you belong in the world - that place you can truly call home. It follows Bert (John Krasinki) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) through their journey into parenthood. They travel to several different cities - Phoenix, Montreal, Miami, Madison - in search of a location to lay down their roots. In each city, they find something they don't like and move on. Verona keeps mentioning her parents being killed when she was in college, and her sister brings up their parents' house. The house has been vacant for 12 years, and they are considering selling it. I don't know why I didn't realize this was the logical solution earlier in the film, but they end up moving into her parents' house and truly finding the 'home' they were searching for. I think my favorite part of Bert and Verona finally finding their home was that the camera catches the sunset at the perfect angle to give the moment a very heart-warming feeling.

This film has the perfect mix of comedy and drama. It's funny when it needs to be funny and serious when it needs to be serious. The movie never drags - it's never boring. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph have a natural gift for comedy, so their on-screen chemistry is something that directors dream of. You believe their relationship, and it makes you want to invest your time in their story. The one thing I do not like about the characters though is that Verona doesn't understand the need to get married, so she continuously turns down Bert's proposals. I get that marriage isn't for everyone - that it is basically just paperwork that links two people together - but Bert feels that it's the ultimate way to show you love someone. I feel like that's why he's so adamant about marrying Verona. If you are making the choice to bring a child into the world, and you have made a commitment to each other out of love, then marriage seems like an obvious decision. Now if Bert and Verona didn't love each other, and the baby was an unwanted accident, then of course marriage would be ridiculous; however, that's not the case. If two people love each other, I think marriage is an awesome option. Now, I guess they could be like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. I mean, they've made it all these years without being married...but I just didn't like that aspect of the film. Bert and Verona are perfect for each other (she even agrees with her sister when she says Verona is a lucky girl), so why not seal the deal. It just left me unsatisfied a little.

The other aspect of the movie that I didn't quite get was how in the heck they had the funds to travel across the United States?! I'm a teacher and my husband is a restaurant manager, and even we find it difficult to travel more than 3-4 times A YEAR. Bert is an insurance salesman and Verona is, I think, a freelance artist. Now tell me how they can afford to travel to Phoenix, Miami, Madison, and Montreal in what seems like only a month? She says she's six months pregnant for the entire film, so that means they traveled by plane and train in one month. They have a cardboard window in their apartment at the beginning of the film...it just doesn't seem realistic at all. It was the ONLY thing that popped out to me as not adding up. Other than that, the story was flawless.

I loved the differences between all of the people they were visiting in the different locations. The boss in Phoenix was crazy, the sister was lonely, the friends in Montreal were depressed, the "cousin" in Madison was an insane environment-loving hippie, and Bert's brother was a single dad. It showed the huge spectrum of people living in America (and Canada), and how NO ONE is perfect. I think it also showed Bert and Verona how good they have it. It made them appreciate each other a little more.

This movie is great. It really has everything you want to see in a film.

Overall, I give Away We Go a 4.5 out of 5 stars.