brokentypewtr at 2013-09-01 03:51:18:

The wife and I decided to have a date night. So we specifically avoided any sequels, tent poles and remakes and chose to watch an indie film. We saw The Way Way Back to a packed crowd at an art house movie theater. Which is surprising since that was the first time I've seen a sold out performance at that theater. I guess other film goers are declaring independents as well. The movie stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, and Liam James. Carell doesn't play his familiar quirky goofy character, which is refreshing. This coming of age dramedy tries to deal with teenage angst, with James playing the protagonist Duncan. The writers try to address a teenager dealing with his single divorced mother and her boyfriend's family. While this creates the drama and conflict in the story. I felt like the filmmakers missed an opportunity to really connect the audience with the mother and her son. Duncan's character is a bit too wallflowery and creates somewhat of a passive character. He hardly speaks at the beginning and often runs away from a situation, hence missing some mother son moments I think the movie needed. Though this helps with his character arc, the other issue I have is that the other characters practically throw their friendship at him and mentor him. Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell nearly steal the show with their crisp humorous dialog. Rockwell provides a surrogate father figure for Duncan and helps him grow. One telling piece at how this movie performed was when the credits rolled, the audience clapped. As for me, despite some of the criticisms I had, overall I enjoyed the movie.