(:)(:)(:)(:) snouts up for The Way Way Back which I predict will be the sleeper hit of the year. This film is so good it brought me out of unplanned blogging retirement. Inexplicably,given its provenance, this film seems to have had zero promotion budget and bad distribution. So if you can find this film (now playing at Tower Theater in Sacramento), you should see it soon and help make my prediction come true.
By the creative team that brought us The Descendants (Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) comes this touching comedy set now (but really in the 80’s) on Cape Cod but summer anywhere. Steve Carell plays a jerk–not one we love, just a jerk–with a great girlfriend, Toni Collete, and a gregarious drunk summer neighbor, Alison Janney. The focal point of the movie is his girlfriend’s son, 14 year year old adorable silent awkward Duncan, played by Liam James, alienated by the constant adult assaholics at the beach, runs off to bond with a hilarious character Owen played by Sam Rockwell.
BTW, I’m still baffled by the film’s title unless it refers to the fact that we walked to the way way back of Tower Theater and all the way up the stairs to the way way back of the biggest screening room to see it. The one advantage to that: there is a secret exit out onto very high stairs going directly down to the parking lot–a bit much for this acrophobic.
This one is good for adults and teens. Very very funny and very very touching. See it.