The Way Way Back is a reference to the trunk of the family station wagon used on family trips back in the day. The title also aptly describes the era (the 80s) that directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who wrote the Descendants) are trying to recreate with this film. The Way, Way Back hits all the same beats as your standard coming of age story. What makes it better than most is the excellent writing and acting that earns its clichés and payoffs.
Duncan (Liam James) is having a real crappy summer. His mom Pam (Toni Collette) and her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) suggest spending the summer at Trent’s beach house. While there, Duncan starts working at the Water Wizz water park with the support of owner Owen (Sam Rockwell). When he starts working, Duncan comes into his own, learning how to stand up for himself and even attracting the girl next door (AnnaSophia Robb).
This story has been done many times before, most recently with Adventureland. Here the same parts are present. The wacky locals, the troubled home life, the pretty girl who doesn’t fit in with her friends. The Way, Way Back’s characters seems pretty realistic and the conflicts seem organic to the story but easily relatable, meaning that there will be no issues with plot development and stupid character decisions. Also, the shift in tone from drama to comedy is never really forced and very easy to understand.
Smartly, the Way, Way Back’s plot is kept to a minimum so the dialogue and humor can rise to the forefront. This dialogue is filled with laughs from beginning to end. What makes the Way, Way Back special is how many different types of humor get created through each unique character. Duncan is so antisocial: most of the awkward jokes are written through him. Owen is very outgoing and confrontational in a fun way, making many of his jokes witty or over the top. Throughout the Way, Way Back, the dialogue is well executed, mixing comedy and drama while still holding true to the characters in the story: a hard task that the Way, Way back uses to great effect.
Making Faxon and Rash’s job easier is a group of actors and actresses that the audience will point at and say “I really like him/her.” Liam James is the wild card here; he has to sell the biggest character arc in the film despite being relatively unproven. James rises to the challenge, really selling the awkward humor and hitting the big character beats in the third act. James is helped along by one great character actor after another. Steve Carell really tries to humanize this detestable character, but the writing of Trent is meant to be pretty awful. Carell’s likeability and charisma gives more depth to Trent that should not be there. Toni Collette takes another awful character and makes us actually feel sorry for her. Her acting is probably the best acting in the film. Sam Rockwell is channelling classic Bill Murray here, and his magnetism and likeability is charming without being artificial. His scenes with Liam James have a nice mentor/mentee feel. Allison Janney is so good in a limited role here that I would see a spinoff of her family. She gets most of the big laughs. AnnaSophia Robb, Robb Corddry, Amanda Peet, Maya Rudolph, Faxon, and Rash also contribute themselves to the story well.
The Way, Way Back is a nice first effort for the writing pair. They clearly have lots of creative friends in Hollywood, and their gift for the spoken word is evident. I look forward to these two taking some risks on their next project. One day, we will look back at the Way, Way Back with nostalgia for another reason: it will be the springboard of a new directing talent in Hollywood.