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Sam Mendes, Away We Go

by Lauren Hoessly
07/16/2009

The best part of Sam Mendes’ Away We Go is the soundtrack by Alexi Murdoch. Ok. Maybe that is a little harsh. I am a huge fan of Dave Eggers, John Krasinski, and indie film, but this quirky story just didn’t do it for me. The dialogue was genius, but the story moved so slowly that I caught myself yawning a few times. However slow, the film did offer quite the laughs and a very positive theme: sometimes –no matter how far you search, your home is where you decide to love another person.

The story portrays two lovebirds: Burt (John Krasinksi from, “The Office”) and his pregnant girlfriend Verona (Maya Rudolph from, “SNL”). Burt and Verona are 33-year-old vagabonds looking for a place to settle with their almost baby. They travel to Phoenix, Tucson, Montreal, Madison and Miami, visiting friends and family along the way. The plot centers on the couple’s devotion to one another and their determination not to become a typical (or in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s case, not-so-typical) married couple. Verona refuses to marry Burt because her parents are dead, but the two vow never to leave each other in a surprisingly refreshing scene on a trampoline with plenty of “I dos” that satisfy even the most conservative cynic. Each time Burt and Verona visit a new place, they leave more settled with each other rather than with a location. This is the brilliance of the scriptwriting, aided by the side-by-side shots of Burt and Verona walking away together.

Creative actors like; Catherine O’Hara (“Penelope” and many Christopher Guest films) and Jeff Daniels (“The Squid and the Whale”), Allison Janney (“Drop Dead Gorgeous”), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Donnie Darko”) add needed spice. O’Hara and Daniels are Burt’s completely selfish parents who announce their move to Belgium a month before the baby’s due date. Janney is the loud and inappropriate Phoenix wife, opposed to Gyllenhaal’s wacky feminist character, “LN” (somehow breast-feeding a -at least- three year old seems strange). I found myself laughing at both women’s out of place behavior and crazy parenting ideas- of course passed on to the wiser Burt and Verona. Apart from these actors, the film’s luster lacked due to its seriousness met with humor. It leaves the viewer wondering if they are supposed to laugh, be concerned, or to cry -this is the creativity of independent film at its finest. Maybe this is the point of all the places and people Burt and Verona meet; that love grows from each other, not with a new home or new friends or even a new lifestyle.


This is the beauty of Away We Go and this is what makes the film worthwhile (yes, even without the soundtrack). By the end of my viewing, I realized that I was bothered that Burt and Verona were never married. It bugged me that it poked fun of traditional marriage and stereotyped certain behaviors – but, do you know what? Because it did that, I walked away discussing and thinking about marriage and family. “Away We Go” makes you stop to think about the people you love and why. And for that, I am very grateful. My friend Jace on the West Coast once told me I need to get out more. Maybe he’s right. Maybe if we all “go”, we’ll discover the importance of family. Maybe we’ll all realize that being together is the most important decision we’ll ever make it.