AWAY WE GO (R)  **1/2

 

Directed by Sam Mendes. 97 minutes.

Starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gylenhaal, Catherine O’Hara, Allison Janney, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Samantha Pryor and Josh Hamilton. Released by Focus Features.

 

Sam Mendes’ Away We Go is undoubtedly well-intentioned and, occassionally, on the money about the curse of being young and not knowing what to do with one’s life or, as the two lead characters in the film say, ‘We’re fuckups.’ The film means well – it does, really – and has its moments of insight and humor. But it’s eventual downfall is the fact that it consistently wears its quirks on its sleeve. This is a film by and for eccentrics, or so it would seem. The film’s two leads talk and talk and talk about their own various quirks – for instance, their disagreement about the difference between whittling and cobbling – but they pale in comparison to the who’s who of supporting characters who make their way into the film and, well, act quirky. There’s the New Age couple who refuses to use strollers and has sex in front of their children, the self-centered parents who buy an expensive statue to honor indigents, the foul-mouthed mother who refers to her children as ‘dikes’ and ‘Teamsters’ and the couple with multiple adopted children who use a stack of pancakes as a metaphor for a happy family.

 

The film, which was written by Dave Eggers and his wife, Vendela Vida, combines the time honored genres of the road trip and the young couple facing life before their first child. We find out that Burt (John Krasinski) and Maya Rudolph (Verona) will become parents during an opening scene in which Burt is, um, sampling the merchandise and detects a fruity flavor. ‘Nuff said. The couple, who was depending on Burt’s oddball parents (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara) to help watch over the kid but find out that the older pair is moving to Belgium, must abandon their humble digs and hit the high road to determine where they will settle down. Along the way, their relationship is, actually, not tested. In fact, they remain pretty true to one another through and through, only gaining more insight into the reason why they chose one another. No, no – their adventures are more involved with the smorgasbord of blatant weirdoes they experience along the way.

 

The film takes us from Phoenix to Tucson, Madison, Wisconsin to Montreal and eventually down to Miami. The range of characters we meet include the amusing – Allison Janney as a potty-mouthed mother of two, who continuously insults her own children – to the not-so-believable – Maggie Gylenhaal and Josh Hamilton as two aggravating New Age hippies. The settings in which the couple find themselves start out as funny, but become more serious as the picture progresses. There are a few insightful and even moving sequences to be found here, especially one on a trampoline in which Burt, who pines to get married, and Verona, who does not, exchange vows of a sort. The moment could have gone schmaltzy or flat-out failed, but it ends up being one of the film’s finer moments.

 

Which is too bad, because so much of the rest of the movie is weighted down by its endless eccentricity. Please don’t misunderstand me. I love the oddball, the goofy, the strange and off-the-wall. I’m a devoted David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, Guy Maddin and Alejandro Jodorowsky fan. I do weird. But, unfortunately, Away We Go is more of the Napoleon Dynamite variety of eccentricity. In other words: Look at How Wacky We All Are! I should also add that I, unlike others who seemingly refuse to admire any output by the man, am also a fan of Sam Mendes’ work. A number of film critics have taken back their praise of 1999’s American Beauty, while I believe that film still holds up just fine. I also defended Road to Perdition, a visually mesmerizing picture, while others did not care for it. I thought Jarhead was underrated and found Revolutionary Road to be powerful. I admire Mendes for attempting something slightly lighter with Away We Go and, don’t get me wrong, it’s really not a bad film at all. It’s just a little too familiar and twee for it’s own good.