Synopsis: Duncan (Liam James) is a 14-year old boy in his “awkward phase,” brought along on a summer beach trip with his mother (Toni Collette) and her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell). Trent’s beach house proves to be in a community of self-absorbed adults, and Duncan finds himself on his own, attempting to find silver linings in a miserable summer situation. Through interactions with the neighbor’s daughter Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and a bum-ish water park operator named Owen (Sam Rockwell), Duncan finds a chance to build his own summer entirely apart from his depressing family situation.
In an age where indie films, and those not bursting at the seams with big screen action that converts well to 3D are often out of theaters so quickly we hardly have the chance to see them, this is one to catch if you still can. Of course, there’s a plethora of movie streaming service that may well have this film shortly. At Netflix we tend to get a random spattering of new films, and there’s always a chance we find one we like, and at Picturebox films we’re given a hand-picked monthly selection of films new and old. Services like these are often where these quickly-out-of-theaters indie films end up. But if you’re going to make the effort to catch one at the cinema, this might be one to think about.
In “The Way Way Back,” directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash achieve that inexplicable pleasantness that makes such movies so delightful when they work. The film begins with awkwardness, as a sullen Duncan is belittled and criticized by Trent on the ride to the beach. Duncan is so apathetic, and so determined not to respond to his mother’s love interest, that he lets the criticism wash over him. It’s a bit of a sad start, really.
However, from the moment the family arrives at the beach and neighbor Betty (Allison Janney) comes over to say hello, it becomes clear that this movie will be more about character quirks than depressing family drama. Janney delivers a delightfully eccentric performance from her first breath, declaring Duncan immediately to be “in all his awkward phase glory.”
From this point on, the movie delves into various character studies, with most of the adults in the picture coming out tainted at best. Escaping these animated and outwardly joyous but ultimately shady characters, Duncan finds solace in the relatable Susanna (Betty’s daughter) and, most improbably, in the endearingly casual and accepting Owen.
Such films, involving family disputes, awkward teenagers, and the general strive to “cope,” can often get lost in clichés, but “The Way Way Back” avoids this issue entirely. Pulled along in large part by the always unique Sam Rockwell, the film rises to an original feel-good place. It’s an indie teen dramedy we’ve never quite seen before, and it was one of the quietest, but most well done films of the summer.
