Aug 3: Away We Go

"A couple who is expecting their first child travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time."

Directed: Sam Mendes, Rated: R, 98 minutes 

Away We Go is a movie that grows on you. At first, the film settles in your heart as you can clearly tell the film's an endearing little road trip flick. After time, and multiple viewings, you begin to appreciate the film's subtleness and humor much more and really start loving it. It's a flawed film, yes, as it can jump from incredibly funny to not-at-all-funny depressing in a heartbeat, leaving you more dazed than entertained, but it's too charming to not forgive. It's also easy to ignore when the film features two of the most likable people in the world, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. The two have perfect chemistry and their relationship makes Away We Go much more memorable than your average romantic romp. 

Away We Go follows Burt (Krasinski) and Verona, two people madly in love and expecting a child. Verona never wants to get married, but the two are clearly committed to one another and want to find the perfect place to start a family. As they have their own relatives and friends scattered across the country, the couple make their way through Arizona, Wisconsin, Miami and make their way to Canada. On their journey, the two begin to realize what kind of parents they want to be, taking the best and the worst of the other couples they're visiting and knowing who to stay away from when they finally decide to settle down. The film has a great premise and the execution is near pitch-perfect. Away We Go hides the fact that the film is indeed a road-trip movie gracefully, never focusing on the borrow intricies of traveling and instead puts the spotlight on each episode that plays out in each destination. It's a series of events strung together very well, in a peaceful, yet playful way. 

His songs are perfect road trip music... but also fit for a funeral or a divorce party (those exist, right?). 

Sam Mendes directed Away We Go and it's a huge change of pace and style from his earlier work (Jardhead, American Beauty, Road to Perdition). The movie is slow and steady, but still is able to delve into some of the similar themes his movies have explored, such as the power of family and the "existential" search for meaning in life. All of the emotional impact is heightened by a magnificent soundtrack by Alexi Murdoch, whose songs add so much to the film. Away We Go is very reminiscent of Garden State in this fact, as it would not be the same without the songs being included. 

No perfect Portman, however. 

I would highly recommend Away We Go. While it's not perfect, it's close. It's easy to understand how some people may not like the film, as the two main characters are a little arrogant at times, but Krasinski and Rudolph are too damn likable to hate. The two leads show great range in their ability (as they are mostly known for comedy, their dramatic turns are a pleasant surprise). It's also hard to deny the fact that the two work so well together and you can't help but wonder if they're really in love. Away We Go will leave you smiling and wondering about those close to you and realizing how powerful a simple thing like love can be. 

The Good:

John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph making the movie their own little adventure, with a great soundtrack and a smart script

The Bad:

while the script is solid, it has a few pacing problems that leave you emotionally confused, laughing and then almost crying the next moment

The Ugly:

the film leaves you thinking about your own life and the place you're in right now, which to some may be a good thing but to others a more complex moment of reflection

Overall: 7.9/10

Trailer:

July 21: Friends with Kids

"Two best friends decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic, so they can avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships."

Directed by: Jennifer Westfeldt, Rated: R, 107 minutes

Friends with Kids, or the "Bridesmaids Reunion", fails to be anything special or original. It takes a rather ridiculous idea and stretches it across 107 minutes in some remarkably unfathomable way. It tries so hard to be an honest look at relationships, marriage, and having kids, but after all is said and done, it cops out for the cheesy romantic-comedy ending we've all seen billions of times before. Everything about the movie feels forced, and the random injections of over-the-top raunchy comedy are completely out of place. Friends with Kids cannot figure out what it wants to be and tries too hard to be everything it's not. Very few of the characters are even likable, and while Adam Scott does an amazing job in one of his first leading roles, the rest of the (usually talented) cast are just strung along for the ride. For instance, Kristen Wiig has about six minutes of screen time, and for most of those scenes, she doesn't even speak. She's there because she'll draw in fans of Bridesmaids but really her character could be played by any random woman. 

Like Judy Greer, for instance, who has the most chick-flick appearances in cinematic history. 

The story of Friends with Kids is just that. Two best friends, Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt), decide that they should just have a kid to get it out of the way so there's none of the nonsense when they meet the one they actually want to love. It's a ridiculously shallow idea and the fact an entire movie is dedicated to the notion is really frustrating. It's hard to tell if Westfeldt (who wrote and directed the film) was trying to be quirky or different as she put the film into fruition, or if she really has no idea what makes a great story. Of course, there are hundreds of reasons why this entire process would go wrong, and while the film touches upon them, most of it gets swept under the rug. Friends with Kids introduces just enough conflict after the kid is born so that the film's conclusion doesn't seem as big of a cop-out as it really is. 

Similar to every Katherine Heigl movie ever made. 

Friends with Kids also features John Hamm, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Edward Burns, and the very out of place Megan Fox. Yes, the Transformers "mega-babe" finds herself in a very important role in this movie and adds absolutely nothing to the entire picture. As previously mentioned, very little of this supporting cast gets the moments to shine as they deserve, and throughout the entire movie, you can't help but wonder about the talent wasted. It is, however, Adam Scott who steals the show. From his days on Party Down to his now recurring character on Parks and Recreations, Adam Scott has continued to prove he has the talent to move onto bigger and better things. Unfortunately for Scott, Friends with Kids is not the leading man feature debut he deserves and it's a damn shame. His counter-part, Westfeldt, completely fails to balance out the charm and wit of Scott and is actually the biggest reason the film is such a failure. She is incredibly unlikable as an actress and as a writer/director and cannot keep up with anyone else in her movie. For instance, if you check out the blooper reel, you can see how out of place she is as a co-star and a filmmaker. 

She's also not the most attractive lady, looking a little too "pulled back" around the edges. 

Friends with Kids is not worth the time it feels it deserves, and is incredibly mundane and tedious. There is very little in the film that proves worthwhile and sitting through the movie grows more and more frustrating. Even after putting up with the entirety of the thing, it's ending is such a cop out of epic proportions that you can't help but feel the previous 100 minutes was wasted. The film is neither funny nor charming and any sense of realism it tries to evoke gets pissed out the window the moment the movie starts. Jennifer Westfeldt has shown the world that her ability to craft any kind of worthwhile film is nearly nonexistent. Friends with Kids may be her directorial debut (she's written two prior films), but one can only hope that this will be her last. 

The Good: 

Adam Scott tries his hardest to shine in a film that refuses to give him a chance

The Bad:

a script so bland and so boring that attempts to be some raunchy and romantic comedy but turns into a series of events that happen to a bunch of incredibly unlikable people

The Ugly:

Jennifer Westfeldt abusing the power of knowing people and putting together a movie that is unworthy of any of their talents (yes, even Megan Fox's)

Overall: 2.5/10

Trailer: