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Health & Fitness

'The Way, Way Back' Journeys Through Familiar But Enjoyable Territory


Coming-of-age movies actually get old quickly, since they tend to have the same landmarks. But what is remarkable about “The Way, Way Back” is actually not that it provides new scenery. Rather, it's that it takes the same route, but you have a great time anyway.

Our hero in all his awkward glory this time around is 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James), still struggling to cope with his parents' divorce. It certainly doesn't help that his mother Pam's (Toni Collette) new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) is a despicable bully who cleverly disguises his cruel put-downs as life lessons and/or concern. When Trent takes them all to his beach house for the summer, Duncan naturally has a hard time fitting in and develops a crush on Susanna, (AnnaSophia Robb) the beautiful girl next door.

But Duncan's summer actually improves drastically when he meets the effortlessly charming and charismatic Owen (Sam Rockwell), a water park manager who hires Duncan and steps in as mentor and father figure. The park, of course, is home to an endearing bunch of quirky characters who help Duncan learn to be more confident and figure out his life, and actually make a move on the impossibly beautiful girl next door who is somehow interested in him.

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Because the major accomplishment of “The Way, Way Back” is how it manages to be so enjoyable while being about something as cliché as absent fathers, and how their absence shapes the lives of the movie's adolescents. It also manages to be witty without being too quirky, and may leave you believing that people could actually say these lines in real life.

And unlike other coming-of-age films, it manages to leave you with a bit of hope without sugarcoating. That it manages to leave any impression at all is a testament to its excellent script and perfect casting that allows at least some of its male actors to showcase their skills. The women may be almost criminally underused, but the men, especially Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell, shine.

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Carell's Trent could easily have been just a baffling caricature that made Collette look all the worse for falling for him, but he makes him more of an everyday jerk that could plausibly romance her while bullying her son right under her nose. And Rockwell's almost impossibly appealing Owen is is still flawed enough to be forced to learn a few lessons of his own while almost single-handedly carrying “The Way, Way Back” out of the average category.

So in terms of summer coming-of-age films, you could do a lot worse. Go to laugh at the antics, and be glad you're not related to the cast. Are good role models ever funny?

Grade: B+



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