The Way Way Back

First Hit:  Very well acted film about a very young man finding his self-esteem and himself.

There are lots of young men who have had or are having the feeling of just being worthless and not of value.

At the opening of the film, Trent (Steve Carell), Pam (Toni Collette), Steph (Zoe Levin) and Duncan (Liam James) are headed to Trent’s summer beach house for an extended vacation. Duncan is asked by Trent, his mother’s boyfriend, what is his number?  “How do you rank yourself between 1 and 10?” Duncan doesn’t want to answer, is clearly irritated with the question, and reluctantly responds with “6”, “I’m a 6” he says. 

Trent laughs off this number and immediately says “I think you’re a 3.” Then he tells him why he’s a 3 and none of it is helpful to young Duncan. In fact it puts yet another wall between him and Trent. He hates being in this situation, wants to be with his dad (who now lives with young girl in California) and hates that his mom has chosen this man to be with.

They drive up to the house, the neighbor Betty (Alison Janney) is waiting to “get the party started”. Betty is divorced and has two kids Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and Peter (River Alexander). Trent and Betty invite other neighbors Kip and Joan (Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet respectively) and their regression into too much drinking, smoking dope, and sexual dalliances begins.

To get away from the adult madness, Duncan starts taking off every day on a bike just to get away. Eventually he finds his way to the area’s "Water Wizzin" which is a water park. Here he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) who immediately sizes Duncan up and makes it his business to help the kid find his way.

All through this film we are given views into the incongruent nature and behavior of parents and the effects on young teenage kids who are also looking to find their way into adulthood.

James is sublime. He fully captures the boy who has little self-esteem. His walk, look, and manner of speaking are spot-on perfect, a truly outstanding performance. Collette, is very good as Duncan’s mom who would like to trust a man in a relationship again and goes beyond her comfort zone to find out if the relationship with Trent will work. Carell is very good as the jerk guy who is trying to be friends with Duncan but asserting his alpha maleness to keep control of things. Levin is good as Trent’s daughter who doesn’t like what she is seeing and wants to grow up too soon. Robb is very strong as the girl who reaches out to Duncan and is touched by his path. Rockwell is extraordinary as the guy who never grew up but wants to help young guys find their way. Janney is very good as the nosy, drinks too much, and innocently flirtatious neighbor. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash wrote and directed this film and their spot-on screenplay and direction brought this film home elegantly.

Overall:  This is a wonderful film and truly a joy to watch.

2012

First Hit: Visual effects are the real story here which provide an interesting view of what might happen during a cataclysmic world event.

There are lots of things that get mixed up and are inaccurate in this film, like cell phones still working in India and the US when half the world is underwater, but for the most part the film is a fun ride of close calls.

John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis a writer, father and divorced limo driver who inadvertently comes across the US Government testing for the problems in the Earth’s core and crust while camping with his kids in Yosemite National Park.

While in Yosemite, he runs across a roving and raging independent radio broadcast reporter named Charlie Frost (played wonderfully by Woody Harrelson) who begins to convince him that there is a huge problem with the Earth and that the government is hiding it from everyone.

Another of the film’s stories is of a Geologist Adrian Helmsley (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is working with a scientist in India who discovered that the core is heating up so fast that the world will end in a short period of time.

Helmsley speaks with the President who speaks with the other leaders of the world and they decide to create “Arks” to save a part of the human race along with its animals. Of course they don’t tell the populous, but offer up openings on the Arks to those who have the most money.

Meanwhile Jackson figures out that Frost’s ravings are correct that decides to save his children, divorced wife and her current husband. This begins the effects part of the film where there are more buildings falling, waves crashing, and cracks opening up in the Earth than one can ever imagine.

From this point on, the film is a roller coaster ride and it is fun to watch.

Roland Emmerich does a good job of giving us all sorts of fun effects; although some of them not very realistic, like driving through a falling building or flying between the minimal spaces between two buildings falling into each other. However, if one lets go of the accuracies and probabilities, then it is a fun rollick of a movie. Cusack mugs his way through being distraught and brave. I loved the kids Noah and Lily (played by Liam James and Morgan Lily respectively) doing their part to create a glue between the divorced parents in this traumatic situation. Ejiofor was solid as the Geologist as was Danny Glover as the President and Thandie Newton as the President’s daughter.

Overall: Not a great film for dialogue or content but fun to watch for the visual effects.