The Way Way Back
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There are some summers; People continue to carry them no matter how far they have passed. This warm and fragile production, written by Natalie Morales and Jim Rash and directed by Rash, tells exactly such a summer. Fourteen-year-old Duncan is not yet at peace with his mother's new boyfriend. Although Trent seems like a person who has everything in place from the outside, his pressure on Duncan draws the boy even further into his already closed shell. This summer vacation to the seaside town begins not as an escape opportunity for Duncan, but as a long process that must be endured. Until he met the run-down but cheerful Water Wizz water park in the remote corner of town. This is where the real magic of the movie comes into play. The character Owen, played by Sam Rockwell, enters Duncan's life in a quiet but shocking way. This sarcastic, talkative and free-spirited man turns into the heart of the film with the relationship he establishes with the young man. Rockwell is so natural and fluid in this role that the audience relaxes a little every time he appears on the screen. The production conveys the depressing world of adolescence, full of shame and silence, in an authentic language. Duncan's introversion is not caricatured; On the contrary, it is felt in every scene. Completing the equation are the girl next door, Susanna, played by AnnaSophia Robb, and the cold but complex Trent, played by Steve Carell. This film carries a nostalgic warmth, but never strays into false optimism; It's a reminder of how strange, how heavy, and sometimes how beautiful growing up can be.
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Wuchak
July 04, 2021
9/10
_**A boy coming-of-age near Cape Cod and more**_ A 14 year-old boy (Liam James) struggles to fit-in with the family & friends of his mother’s new beau (Steve Carell) as they partake of a vacation at his beach house in the Cape Cod area. The teen finds a quasi-mentor (Sam Rockwell) at a water park while developing a friendship with the cute neighbor girl (AnnaSophia Robb). Toni Collette plays the mother, Allison Janney a friend and Amanda Peet a flirty woman. “The Way Way Back” (2013) is ...
a coming-of-age flick that meshes elements of films like "The Squid and the Whale" (2005), “The Summer of ’42” (1971), “Meatballs” (1979), “Swimming” (2000) and “Lawn Dogs” (1997), but this is arguably the best of them. Part of the genius of the movie is that the potential stepfather (Carell) isn’t made out to be totally evil nor is the seeming mentor (Rockwell) perfect. They’re both flawed men with presumably good intentions toward the boy, but only one proves that he’s a worthy father-figure. Moreover, the all-around writing/acting smacks of real life. AnnaSophia is super cute on the female front while Zoe Levin is alluring as the pouty, bratty stepsister. Meanwhile Andria Blackman has a standout cameo as the girl in a yellow bikini. The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot in the Cape Code region of Massachusetts: Wareham & nearby Onset; Marshfield & nearby Duxbury. GRADE: A/A-
CinemaSerf
June 18, 2022
6/10
"Duncan" (Liam James) is a typical fourteen year old boy. He keeps himself to himself, and isn't greatly looking forward to his family holiday with mother and her boyfriend and his older teenage daughter. Determined to get away from this domestic bliss, he heads to the "Wizz" water park where he strikes up a friendship with one of the animal keepers "Owen" (Sam Rockwell). The latter sees something, perhaps of himself, in this younger lad and allows him to help him. As the summer progresses, both...
help the other to find an inner strength to deal with their demons - and, gradually, a newly empowered "Duncan" emerges ready to assert himself a little more. Whilst this isn't a great film, there is something about James's strong and personable performance that merits watching. His teenage angst is cleverly, subtly even, presented to us and his relationship with Rockwell, not an obvious friend for the boy, evolves by degree - and not always positively, either. There is way too much dialogue, and I found the family sub-plot with his over-bearing step-father "Trent" (Steve Carrell) and his really irritating daughter "Steph" (Zoe Levin) whom would cheerfully have left in the shark pen, got in the way of the intensity of this otherwise quite engaging exercise in bonding and maturing confidence. Worth a watch.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Way Way Back was released in 2013.
The Way Way Back has a runtime of 1 hr 43 min (103 minutes).
The Way Way Back belongs to the following genres: Comedy, Drama.
The Way Way Back has a rating of 7.1/10 from 1,950 votes on TMDB.
In the United States, The Way Way Back is available to watch on: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.