Review of The Way Way Back (2013) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

This is mostly a family related drama film (with some amusing moments) which features themes including shyness, unlikely friendships and parties. The plot is rather mundane, depicting a young boy being begrudgingly put in a situation he clearly doesn't feel comfortable with. Its a situation many introverted people can relate to, me included, with the loud, gobby people trying to out-do others and the like. I didn't find the film especially engrossing or exciting as such, somewhat unsurprisingly, although I did empathise with the main character, Duncan, wanting to find somewhere he can feel comfortable and enjoy himself, away from bickering and so on.

Cast wise, Liam James does very well at portraying a somewhat disillusioned, downbeat and quite quiet teenage boy. Owen, the other main character, who befriends Duncan, is played by Sam Rockwell. He is quite a cocky type, fairly amusing at times and I enjoyed how he tries to get Duncan to come out of his shell. He isn't as clever or amazing as he seems he thinks he is but there are definitely some cringe-y type funny scenes with the two of them, which I found entertaining. Other cast members include Steve Carell as Duncans mothers partner, Trent and Toni Collette as Pam.

The music played is mostly upbeat, fairly jolly, summer type songs, including pop/rock type ballads from the 80s (such as Kyrie by Mr. Mister). I found the film quite an easy watch - it was pretty average overall and I'm not sure I can say much more than that. While there are some amusing moments (as mentioned), the film is marketed as being a comedy drama but I don't think its entirely fair to categorise it as that. Suffice to say, this isn't the sort of film which is going to have you burst out laughing, although (ironically) various characters in the film do laugh quite alot. As a drama it is quite slow but the characterisation is good and I enjoyed watching it, it just isn't a big exciting type of a film.

Content wise, this film contains some mild sex references or crude remarks and a few instances of strong language. There are some drug references and scenes with people drinking alcohol, with mentions of the effects of being inebriated via certain characters. There is no real violence of such to mention and the film isn't in any way frightening as such. Due to this, the film has been given a 12 rating.

This isn't a bad film and it isn't a particularly good one either, so I suppose I'll opt for undecided as far as recommending this is concerned. Its an easy watch and is somewhat amusing in parts but its not particularly funny and the plot is quite slow and perhaps a little meandering, so it won't appeal to everyone. Hopefully what I've said is enough to help you gauge if you'd like to see it or not.