Away we go, 2009

Away we go, 2009
Director: Sam Mendez
Cast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph


Stage: Local theatre Dvor, premiere (and pinepple and melon afterwards, accompanied with wine)



Away we go in short: A couple who is expecting their first child travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time.

Preps: I got the ticket from a friend of mine (the invitation). Knowing it is Mendez directing this piece, I think I might see something good again (I just adored his American Beauty and admired the Road). I have seen the trailer and this might be cute even for my critical sceptical eye.

Reality: Somehow the movie makes me depressive in the end. Finding the true selves within seeking where they might stop and live forever with their baby, Veronica and Burt seem to be one of the more normal couples living there. The road they decide to go on reflects all sorts of human hybrids (in the sense, such weird couples, weird choice of how they are living, weird conditions..).. Each time they face another couple of friends or relatives, they seem more normal. In the beginning I thought Burt and Veronica were the weird ones, however through ironic set of scenes I change my mind completely.

I find myself feeling deep sorrow or at least sorry for all those they met on their voyage to face the destination of their living. Choosing the right environment afterall seems not so important as it was at the beginning. The message, that the right choice of the location is the one you are there with your partner (soulmate), and not where your friends/relatives/action/vivid environment is, gains importance throughout the movie.

The weird couples and the scenes in the end are something the movie is worth watching for. I laughed my ass off at some of the ironic dialogues and felt really depressed and sad at stories of the others. The movie shows you the strong and the weak points of each relationship and each environment. And finally brings the initial couple back to each other.

In some way, it lacks action and it lacks dynamics, but Mendez fills this space with place for thinking about the lives you just were faced with and relationship dilemmas once you are in front of them. In some sense, one of the good ones - in terms of follow up activities, going on in my head - I thought about this piece a long time after seeing it.



One of the best dialogues, while they are driving in the car:

Verona De Tessant: I can't believe you told your mother about my tilted uterus!
Burt Farlander: I didn't know your tilted uterus was a secret.
Verona De Tessant: Yes, my tilted uterus is a secret!
Burt Farlander: Your tilted uterus is a secret. Your fucking uterus is a fucking secret!


My personal rating: 8,5 (road drama as I think it is supposed to be :)

Away on IMDB

Away we go online