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 Away We Go 

What grade would you give this film?
A 25%  25%  [ 2 ]
B 38%  38%  [ 3 ]
C 38%  38%  [ 3 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 8

 Away We Go 
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Post Away We Go
Away We Go

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Away We Go is a 2009 comedy-drama film about a young couple traveling across the United States in search of the perfect place to raise their family. The film stars John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Paul Schneider, Carmen Ejogo, Chris Messina, Melanie Lynskey, Josh Hamilton, Jim Gaffigan and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is directed by Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes and written by the husband and wife team of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.

It was released in limited in the United States starting June 5, 2009. Previous titles were This Must Be the Place and Farlanders.

It will open the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:21 pm
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Post Re: Away We Go
Although it at times felt like Mendes was trying to paint too mean a picture of his supporting characters, this is undoubtedly a very well-acted, very well-made serio-comedy with poignant themes and a beautiful soundtrack. I wasn't expecting Krasinski or Rudolph, the respective cast members of The Office and SNL, to handle their serious couple roles well, but they both surprised me. Especially Rudolph, she's nearly Oscar material here. The supporting cast all does a very good job, but Mendes made a lot of them too stereotypical to be particularly believable. If you're a fan of those ensemble indie dramedies we seem to get a few of every year, you'll probably enjoy this.

B / B+

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Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:56 pm
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Post Re: Away We Go
I've seen it twice and it gets better with each viewing. Such a wonderful and touching film, with PHENOMENAL performances from both of the leads - who are both Oscar-worthy. A


Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:51 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
So I liked this movie. It wasn't great by any means but I thought the acting was superb (especially from Maya Rudolph, who I wouldn't have expected to show the kind of dramatic range she does here) and the interactions between Burt and Verona felt real and genuine. B


Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:30 pm
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Wallflower
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Post Re: Away We Go
How is the wonderful Maggie Gyllenhaal?


Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:47 pm
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Post Re: Away We Go
Kinda an uneven film that had nowhere to go. Some of the character are too dysfunctional to have any realism to them, and the reason for their personalities is not explained, and the two lead character have very little conflict with each other, meaning that they are too perfect for each other. Good for relations, but bad for story, cause no conflict means no story. Good performances, but the story went almost nowhere.

Grade - C+

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Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:08 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
Mike wrote:
How is the wonderful Maggie Gyllenhaal?


Strained. I go to a college full of trust(fund)afarians, and trust me, you really don't have to try that hard to satirize them. You know they're overdoing the hypocrisy when she says "after childbirth, I felt like I understood war."

That said, there were plenty of legitimate laughs during the movie. Too bad they peaked in Phoenix. Rudolph was likable, but Krasinski was way too smug. Both adjectives could describe Away We Go as well. The cinematography is occasionally clever, but often times you could tell they were trying way too hard to be stylish. Maybe I'd have liked it more, but the whole movie is soured by a tremendously overdone final scene. They should have skipped that sappy music video and ended it on the trampoline. It wouldn't have been satisfying, but it would have been better than... that.


Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:42 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
I was really blown away by this film. Thoroughly.

First of all, the chemistry between John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph is absolutely believable and charming all throughout the film. Both the actors give excellent performances that are both real and varied throughout the film. They each have a similar edge of dried humor, but supply a strong range of emotions that was nearly identical to many people I admire in real life. When these two are interacting just the two of them, and talking about life the film really excels. And when the film is displaying how this couple is strange but in a very realistic way, their the wacky next door neighbors, but their not really that different from you if you think about it.

Unfortunately the rest of the characters aren't as strong in construction and not nearly as identifiable as real people. I've met a few people as crass and outrageous as Alison Janey's (she did a good job) crazy character, and while I admired Maggie Gyllenhaal's ability to bring out her exaggerated character, the character (and her husband) was still very flawed. The plot is very flimsy, but it really doesn't need to be much more solid, the film feels wonderfully free, rather than loose and chaotic.

The humor in the film fell flat occasionally, but especially when it focused on John Krasinski it was clever and creative, not to mention hilarious. When it relied on the preposterous characters (especially Gyllenhaal's) it was kind of irritating, but Mendes brought a sharp and cutting edge to it, preventing things from going wayy too far, and giving the humor a nice little tinge at various moments.

Also it was really nice to see Mendes having a little fun in his film for once, even if it was broken up by some dramatic moments. It also didn't feel at all emotionally manipulative, which Mendes often can, and rather felt appropriately sappy, and wonderfully comedic.

Overall: a marvelous film that excells on enough levels you will easily be able to shake off the occasional shoddy or preposterous character.

5/5.

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:03 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
AWAY WE GO - 5/10 ( C )

What a disappointment! It started out promising but doesn't take long to go downhill. If it wasn't after the section with Allison Janney then it was certainly after the part with Maggie Gyllenhaal that it goes downhill only to never recover, and we're only halfway there at this point. After that it just gets completely uninteresting and I was hoping it would be done soon. Also, I'm a huge Maggie Gyllenhaal fan, but didn't care for her much here. It's not her fault, it's the weird, over-the-top character she plays. At first I found her funny, but as the section with her progressed I found myself more and more annoyed by it. And outside of the leads, none of the characters felt real to me.

It has a couple of nice moments, and Krasinski and Rudolph are good (especially Krasinski), but mostly it's just faux-indie crap. Not terrible, but I expected more. I'm glad I didn't bother seeing it in theaters. There have been much better indie films this year, like (500) Days of Summer and Sunshine Cleaning.


Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:32 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
As I say in my podcast (which I will post as soon as it gets online), I heart this movie... It is just so damn awesome and heartwarming... I can't praise it enough and definitely making my top 10 of the year. A

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Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:21 am
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Wallflower
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Post Re: Away We Go
I'm sick right now, and I can't help but feel like this movie played a part in it ;). It is pretty sickening and makes me feel yucky just thinking about it.


Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:04 am
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Post Re: Away We Go


Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:50 am
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Post Re: Away We Go
Mike wrote:
I'm sick right now, and I can't help but feel like this movie played a part in it ;). It is pretty sickening and makes me feel yucky just thinking about it.


poor mike, when will you be able to realize John Krasinski is gorgeous.

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:04 pm
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Wallflower
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Post Re: Away We Go
I've already learned that :P. John Krasinski is adorable.


Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:49 pm
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Post Re: Away We Go
and so is this movie!!

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:24 am
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Wallflower
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Post Re: Away We Go
Umm, no. This movie is pretentious ;).


Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:57 pm
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Post Re: Away We Go
a little bit of pretension never hurt anyone!

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Mr. R wrote:
Malcolm wrote:
You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself.

Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.


Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:56 am
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Let's Call It A Bromance
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Post Re: Away We Go
Away We Go may not be Sam Mendes' greatest film to date but it is still joyful to watch and gets better with each new scene. The first half is a bit offbeat at times and once the film gets past Maggie Gyllenhaal's section, it gets incredible strong in its message while also keeping up with its laughs. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph have great chemistry here and are the only notable actors in the film. The supporting actors have their moments but its only their stories and not the performances they have that stay noticeable in the film. If the first half was more like the second half, it would of been a good bit stronger. It is a satisfying watch however. **1/2


Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:14 pm
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