THE WAY, WAY BACK | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"THE WAY, WAY BACK"
(2013) (Liam James, Steve Carell) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Dramedy: A teenager, still reeling from the divorce of his parents and bullied by his mom's new boyfriend, takes a job at a water theme park for the summer.

PLOT:

Duncan (LIAM JAMES) has seen his world turned upside-down the past couple of years. His parents have divorced, and his mom, Pam (TONI COLLETTE), has moved on with a new man, Trent (STEVE CARELL). Things are so serious between the two that they have decided to spend the summer at Trent's beach house along with Trent's daughter, Steph (ZOE LEVIN), from a previous marriage. The problem is Trent is a bully, who browbeats Duncan at every turn and insists that everything be done the "right" way - i.e. his way.

Once arrived at the quaint, little beach town, they are greeted by a group of vacationers who are longtime friends of Trent's. There is the boozy, outgoing divorcee Betty (ALLISON JANNEY); her pretty teenage daughter, Susanna (ANNASOPHIA ROBB); and her weird son, Peter (RIVER ALEXANDER). There is also the fun couple Kip (ROB CORDDRY) and Joan (AMANDA PEET), who Trent had carried on a secret affair with the previous summer.

One day, Duncan decides to venture off and see what the town has to offer. He finds a local, rundown water theme park run by the eccentric Owen (SAM ROCKWELL), who gives him a job. On Owen's staff are Caitlyn, who likes Owen but can't put up with his immaturity; the perpetually miserable Lewis (JIM RASH); and Roddy (NAT FAXON), Owen's enabling park buddy. They all become attached to Duncan over the course of the summer and try and help him come out of his shell.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Teenagers should definitely have an interest.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For thematic elements, language, some sexual content, and brief drug material.

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

or

Just $7.95/month or $47/year

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.