''Away We Go'' is a 2009 American romantic

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

and written by

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...

and

Vendela Vida Vendela Vida (born September 6, 1971) is an American novelist, journalist, editor, screenplay writer, and educator. She is the author of multiple books, has worked as a writing teacher, and is a founder and editor of '' The Believer'' magazine. ...

. The film's two leads are

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

and

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

. It is Mendes's first film without

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...

's collaboration.

Plot

Verona De Tessant and Burt Farlander are in their early thirties in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

area and struggling to meet daily needs and build fulfilling lives. Learning they will soon become parents, they are confronted with the challenge of how – and where – to raise a child and build a happy family. Six months into Verona's pregnancy, they visit their only family in the area, Burt's parents, Gloria and Jerry, only to find they are moving to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium, a month before the baby is due. They will be gone for two years and they have already rented their place to another couple, despite Burt's and Verona's situation. Frustrated with his parents' selfishness and careless attitude, Burt and Verona decide this is an opportunity to find somewhere else to raise their family, as they both can work from home and live wherever they choose. They first visit

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, to see Verona's old boss Lily, her husband Lowell, and their two children. Burt in particular is disturbed by the couple's crass and mean-spirited behavior toward one another and their children. Burt and Verona next visit Verona's sister Grace, in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Verona urges Burt to try to persuade Grace to stay with her boring boyfriend. When Burt takes a call and displays his trademark humor, Grace tells Verona that she is lucky to have him and Verona agrees. They next visit Burt's childhood friend and pseudo-cousin in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, "LN" (pronounced "ellen"), a college professor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

with inherited money and radical views about parenting. They bring a stroller as a gift, greatly angering LN as she and her husband Roderick's is a " continuum home." Roderick's condescension and LN's backhanded compliments to Verona get to be too much for Burt, so he tells them they are horrible people. He and Verona leave but not before taking their son on a wild stroller ride through the house (which he enjoys). Burt and Verona then visit old college friends in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Tom and his wife, Munch Garnett, and their diverse family of adopted children. Verona and Burt are happy to have found a loving family and a nice town, deciding to move to Montreal. When they all go to dinner, Burt admits he has proposed to Verona many times, but she always refuses (this stems from anguish over her dead parents' inevitable absence from the wedding). After dinner, Tom tells Burt that Munch has recently suffered her fifth

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

and that they seem unable to have biological children. In the morning, Burt receives an emergency call from his brother Courtney, in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, whose wife has left him. Burt and Verona fly to Miami, where Courtney worries about his young daughter and the potential effects of a divorce on her. Burt tries to comfort Courtney while Verona spends time with his daughter. Burt and Verona spend the night outside on a trampoline, promising to love each other and their daughter and have a happy home. The next day, Verona tells Burt a story about her childhood house and her parents (who were both killed in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

when she was 22). Moved by her memory, they decide to settle in Verona's old family home on the

Florida panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

. Realizing it is the place for them, they sit together happily, overlooking the water.

Cast

as Burt Farlander *

as Verona De Tessant * Carmen Ejogo as Grace De Tessant *

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

as Jerry Farlander *

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian and American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She started her career in sketch comedy, sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before expanding her career taking dra ...

as Gloria Farlander *

Allison Janney Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. Known for her performances across the screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Allison Janney, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

as Lily *

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

as Lowell *

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal ( , ; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gylle ...

as LN *

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 2007 to 2015, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers teams ...

as Roderick *

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous ...

as Munch Garnett *

Chris Messina Chris Messina (born August 11, 1974)Hochberg, Mina.Chris Messina stars in 'Ruby Sparks'. ''Newsday'' (Long Island, New York). August 8, 2012: "...the actor, who turns 38 Saturday ugust 11, 2012 After graduating from Northport ew YorkHigh Scho ...

as Tom Garnett * Paul Schneider as Courtney Farlander

Release

''Away We Go'' had a limited theater release in the United States starting June 25, 2009. It opened the 2009

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on September 29, 2009.

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 187 reviews, with an average rating of 6.57 out of 10. The critical consensus reads, "Built on a set of quirks and charms that are as noticeable as they are interchangeable, ''Away We Go'' is a sweet but uneven road trip".

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reported the film had an average score of 58 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. A. O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the two main characters as self-righteous people "aware of their special status as uniquely sensitive, caring, smart and cool beings on a planet full of cretins and failures". In response to reviews "accusing Verona and Burt of being smug, superior and condescending,"

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

said that "these are not sins if you have something to be smug about and much reason to condescend."Ebert, Roger (June 10, 2009)
"Away We Go"
RogerEbert.com Retrieved April 17, 2017. He gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Away We Go'' was released on June 2, 2009, and primarily features songs from singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch, instead of an original

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

. (All songs by Alexi Murdoch except where noted) # "All My Days" (4:57) # " Orange Sky" (6:18) # "Blue Mind" (5:45) # "Song for You" (4:38) # "Breathe" (4:18) # "Towards the Sun" (4:40) # " Meet Me in the Morning" by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

(4:21) # "

What Is Life "What Is Life" is a song by the English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album '' All Things Must Pass''. In many countries, it was issued as the second single from the album, in February 1971, becoming a top-ten hit in th ...

" by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

(4:24) # " Golden Brown" by

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

(3:30) # "Wait" (5:59) # "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" by

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

(7:28) # "The Ragged Sea" (3:19) # "Crinan Wood" (5:45) "All My Days" was featured in the film's trailer.

References

External links

* * {{Sam Mendes 2009 films 2000s road comedy-drama films American road comedy-drama films Big Beach (company) films Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Sam Mendes Films set in Miami Films set in Montreal Films set in Phoenix, Arizona Films set in Tucson, Arizona Films shot in Arizona Films set in Madison, Wisconsin Films set in Wisconsin Films shot in Colorado Films shot in Connecticut Films shot in Florida American pregnancy films Films with screenplays by Dave Eggers Films about parenting 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s pregnancy films English-language road comedy-drama films