AWAY WE GO review by Gary Dean Murray

Sam Mendes had a major hit with American Beauty. That Oscar winner set this director on a path most only dream about, a man who can command just about anything in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the other films he has helmed have not faired as well at the box office, or with Academy viewers. While his Road to Perdition garnered respect, neither Jarhead or Revolutionary Road were considered anything more than valiant efforts. His latest is the very 'indi-feel' flick Away We Go.

The story is as classic as one can get in cinema... a trip. Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are first time expectants. While Burt wants to get married, Verona has many issues with tying the knot. They live a struggled existence with him selling insurance and her drawing medical illustrations. Their home is in Colorado basically because his parents live there. One day Mom and Dad (Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) announce that they are moving to Europe. This puts Burt and Verona in a quandary. They decide that they can live anywhere so decide to travel around the country, seeing friends and relatives to see where the best place to start their family.

First up is Phoenix and Verona's former boss Lily (Allison Janney). They find that the family unit is past being strained, making them wonder just how good of parents the two expectants will be. Then there's a visit to Tucson and Verona's sister Grace (Carmen Ejogo). This brings up a conversation about their parents who have passed on and the reason Verona doesn't want to marry. Next is a visit to Wisconsin and LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a new age professor who seems have strong liberal positions on anything and everything. The biggest laughs come from the confrontation between LN and Burt. We are then off to Montreal where they stay with college classmates Tom (Chris Messina) and Munch. The two have adopted a brood of kids. This little adventure shows the two how hard it is to keep sanity while raising children. A phone call sends them to Miami and Burt's brother Courtney (Paul Schneider). This detour is an eye opening experience on what defines a domicile. And the question remains - where will they call home?

The entire experience of Away We Go is a big mixed bag of nuts. As we meet everyone in the life of Burt and Verona, one begins to wonder if they know any sane people. There are kooks from both the left and the right as they navigate the parenting aspects of others. Burt and Verona are the anchors of the work while the crazies swirl around them.

Watching former SNL member Maya Rudolph one begins to wonder why she isn't in any more films. She is just a joy to observe as our pregnant mother worried about bringing a new life into the world. There is this calmness in her performance that just transports pathos. John Krasinski from The Office doesn't stretch too far from that character with Burt. Growing a beard doesn't make a different person, just a scruffier one.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays LN with a perfect blend of strangeness and wonder. Her New Age platitudes come across as equal parts humorous and creepy. When Burt and LN have a confrontation over a stroller, it becomes the comic highlight of the film.

Away We Go does have some problems. It is too talky with speeches going on and on. If the characters would have been more contemplative and less reactionary, the entire exercise would have been a better whole. The adage of 'Show - Don't tell' should have been the mantra of this flick.

Sam Mendes gets the most from his cast and crew but there is this flatness to the production. In scene after scene, the work comes across as dull and lifeless. That may have been the point of the story but it just feels false. Smartly he doesn't do much with his camera, just setting it up and letting his actors deliver.

Away We Go would have been a more impressive work if it were done by a first time filmmaker. One can forgive the imperfections of a novice given a big break. But Mendes is an Academy Award-winning director, and one expects a stronger work from him. This is a good work but not a great one.

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