Let's face it, the vast majority of Americans are far removed from the inner workings of nature. Sure, there are those who still live and work on farms, but with most citizens living in cities or outlying suburban areas, most of their exposure to the world of the birds and the bees, not to mention lions and tigers and bears, comes from TV documentaries when trips to the zoo aren't an option.
Beyond the day-to-day aspects of eating or trying to avoid being eaten, the subjects in such programs are always eventually shown getting around to procreating. Of course, such footage usually doesn't show much of the actual mating, but there's a lot of focus on the meticulous nesting instinct as well as the rearing of the offspring.
Although most humans obviously try their best to do the latter, most don't give a lot of thought about where their children will be born (meaning geographically, not in terms of a hospital vs. the backseat of a car on the way there). After all, predators aren't of much concern (at least of the carnivorous variety), so people have kids wherever they are and eventually rearrange themselves if needed to get out of bad neighborhoods and into good school districts.
Burt Farlander and Verona De Tessant, on the other hand, take the preemptive route in "Away We Go," a road trip dramedy about what makes a family, for better or worse. Upon hearing that Sam Mendes is behind the camera, many a viewer might think his latest film will focus on the latter, what with his not necessarily cheery views of humans and their interaction with each other in pics such as "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road."
Yet, while there are some darkish moments to the proceedings, for the most part this is a fairly light observational look at a young couple trying to find the right place to start their family, all while getting a crash course of sorts in what constitutes good and bad parents, as well as familial bliss or at least the appearance thereof.
Working from a script by Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, Mendes starts his road trip flick by having the young couple -- appealingly played by John Krasinksi and Maya Rudolph -- learn that his parents (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara) have decided to move out of the country just a few months before the unmarried mother-to-be is expecting.
It's all played with a dry sense of humor, but Mendes barely averts disaster while teetering around various instances of forced quirkiness (one of my cinematic pet peeves). Like other such projects that do the same, the desire is to get viewers laughing and relaxed, thus allowing some deeper material to mix in eventually with the lighter stuff. And with each subsequent leg of the road trip and exposure to the various characters met during the film's various chapters, the material does delve into some serious matters regarding kids, families, and relationships.
It thankfully doesn't ever get too depressing, and Mendes and company make sure to keep the humor (both big and more nuanced and subtle) coming. Yet, while it has its moments, the overall affair feels somewhat uneven, certainly comes off as episodic due to its structure (although I didn't find that flaw terribly distracting), and never really amounts to anything amazingly profound or terribly moving.
It's certainly far from bad, but there's no great answer (which, I guess, is part of the point), and the concluding theme (home is wherever you make it, are happy, and/or are with loved ones) certainly isn't unexpected or earth-shattering, nor is it completely emotionally satisfying.
The performances are generally good (even most of the quirky ones that thankfully don't go too far into the extreme) and Krasinksi and Rudolph convincingly come off as an average couple rather than the usual case of Hollywood casting types. The scribes get in some good dialogue, observational humor, and the occasionally poignant moments. I just wish, however, that it all came together in a more engaging fashion. It's all moderately enjoyable, but perhaps I was just "expecting" (get it?) too much. "Away We Go" rates as a 5.5 out of 10.
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