Saturday, August 3, 2013

The Way, Way Back

Sometimes movies are completely predictable and formulaic and you still like them. The Way, Way Back is one of those. Duncan is spending the summer with his mom and her new boyfriend at the beach house of some generic east coast beach town. It is the boyfriends house so all the friends and neighbors know him. Duncan, being a 14 year old kid who is not cool, has to figure out how to survive this awkward summer. He meets a mentor, meets the neighbor girl, confronts the boyfriend and confronts his mom. In the end is a more confident kid, mom and mentor have both recognized something deeper about themselves and in spite of the fact that life often sucks as a 14 year old kid, everything is going to be OK. Along the way, we get funny (courtesy of Sam Rockwell living like a 14 year old as well as a little bit of REO Speedwagon), we het heartfelt compassion, and quirky sidekicks. And in the end, we walk out having enjoyed laughing and feeling largely satisfied. Sometimes it is just good to embrace the formula.
4 stars (out of 5)

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