Away We Go

AWAY WE GO (2009) - June 1, 2009
Featuring expectedly solid direction from Sam Mendes and really good lead performances from John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph (who couldn't be farther from the usual, embarrassingly over-the-top assortment of characters she played on SNL), this was a film that should have been really good but was weighed down by an oppressive amount of quirkiness. The film surrounds Krasinski and Rudolph with characters who are unreasonably quirky and, many times, downright unpleasant. The movie, which finds the two main characters traveling to different places and seeing old friends and family while trying to figure out where to move, is extremely episodic, and it does improve in the last couple of segments. At that point, the film starts focusing more on the main characters themselves and less on their interactions with the absurd supporting cast -- but it's sort of too late by then. The film is at its best when it's just a low-key drama about a young couple trying to find their place in the world; when it starts introducing all the "hilarious" supporting players, it falls flat. **1/2