Tuesday 8:30 a.m. at Sundance: The Way, Way Back

Directors and Screenwriters:  Nat Faxon, Jim Rash.  U.S.A., 2013, 96 min., color.

Cast:  Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, Liam James.

Description:  “Duncan, an introverted 14-year-old, comes into his own over the course of a comedic summer when he forms unlikely friendships with the gregarious manager of a rundown water park and the misfits who wok there.”

This was my fav.  And to think I almost missed it because I was tired and it was early in the morning.  In the Q&A they announced that it was picked up and would be in theaters in a few months.

The movie opens with a man and woman and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, in a car.  The man is driving, the woman is sleeping, and the boy is in the very back seat, which happens to be backwards so he is looking at the highway just traveled.  The man is Duncan’s mother’s boyfriend and the girl is his daughter.  They are heading to the boyfriend’s beach house for a summer vacation.

The boyfriend asks Duncan how, on a scale of 1 to 10, he rates himself.  After much prodding Duncan finally answers, “6.”  The boyfriend sarcastically replies that he sees Duncan as a 3 and begins ragging on him to do better.  So begins Duncan’s vacation.

Actually, it is a great vacation for Duncan but you will have to see the film to find out more.  It is very entertaining and fun with a surprise ending that brought tears to my eyes.  Go see it when it is in a theater near you.

We found a clip of a Sundance Special Feature called “The Morning After” where the writers/directors are interviewed the night after the premiere, including some great footage of what the atmosphere is Sundance is like:  see that here.

For this film’s listing in the Sundance Film Festival Film Guide, click here.