Away We Go
Going into this movie, I held high expectations—and I was not disappointed in the least. Comical, romantic, and light without being frivolous, Away We Go is a sweetly satisfying film about a young couple expecting their first child. After discovering that the father’s parents are moving out of country, they no longer have ties to their community and decide to travel across the country, searching for the perfect place to raise a family. (Spoilers ahead.)
The couple is, of course, adorable. Played by Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, Verona and Burt have personalities, jobs, and quirks that match their unconventional names. Verona is a talented artist, a bit hippie-looking without being obnoxious, and is quickly scoffed at for appearing to be further along in her pregnancy than she is. (The airport attendants don’t believe that she’s not yet in her third trimester at one point and do not allow her to travel.) Burt is a funny, nerdy-in-a-sweet-way guy who sells some type of insurance over the phone. Both work primarily from home, giving them the opportunity to travel across the country in search of the perfect place to raise a family. (Ironically, the best place they find—before the one they decide on, that is—is in Canada.)
The scene starts on a very comedic, bursting-laugh-out-loud funny note where Burt is about to perform oral sex (beneath a sheet) on Verona and notes that her scent is different—and postulates that perhaps it’s because she’s pregnant. That alone should let you know the tone of this quirky, moving film. As they travel across the nation, we get to meet their friends and family—some of whom are welcoming and heartwarming, some of whom are simply insane, and some who make you wonder what on earth they were smoking when they decided to have children. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels, and Allison Janney all fulfill the roles of the supporting cast brilliantly. As the couple experiences one crazy adventure—or misadventure—after another, they end up coming full circle home to where Verona grew up.
She has slowly dealt with the death of her parents throughout the film—it does have its serious moments, after all; it is a touching movie, too—and when we see the house she grew up in, the backyard, and put it together with the couple we’ve met throughout the movie, we discover along with them how perfect it is for their small family. It’s a wonderful, enjoyable movie—not too sappy or romantic while still delivering enough of both factors to make viewers sigh happily while the credits roll.
