Away We Go – DVD Review

We all have to become grown-ups at some point; whether it’s the first time you become suspicious or the first time you complain about food in a restaurant, it happens to us all. Away We Go is a love story about grown-ups.

It’s not boy meets girl, then queasy romantic glances with some popular indie track in the background, then third act melodrama, followed by the inevitable happily ever after. Maturity is something the romantic comedy genre is in short supply of, but this has it in spades.

Normal couple (if by normal we mean quirky, fuzzy-faced oddballs) go on a road trip to decide where the best place is for them to raise their unborn child. Along the way they discover what kind of parents they want to be – mainly not dickheads.This film comes courtesy of Sam Mendes who, after smashing away the foundations of marriage like a bulldozer with Revolutionary Road, has turned his hand to this sweet little indie. Indeed, this is a bit of a departure into Dramedy for Mr Kate Winslet, with the nicest thing he has ever had to say on celluloid.

Star of the US The Office John Krasinski plays one half of the couple, as the bespeckled Burt – and Maya Rudolph is his pregnant girlfriend Verona. The two of them completely convince as the couple in search of family around the US. On the road they meet various friends and family who range from hippies to borderline psychotics.

This whimsical tale isn’t particularly showy and isn’t another Oscar-baiting picture for Mendes, but it instead serves as an alternative love story. Many of the people Burt and Maya visit are painted with broad strokes but make for some nice contrasts in different (and completely odd) parenting methods.

The film has been accused of being snobbish, with the central couple being too condescending on their crusade to find perfect parenthood. Well frankly, with a cast of characters flawed beyond belief, you can’t help but side with the two of them come the end credits. It is actually a very funny and touching look at becoming a parent (and a family).

So while this may not be the feel good rom-com film of the year, it certainly is one of the most honest and open films around. It’s like Mendes has put his feet up and offered an offbeat view on romance and providing an alternative Valentine’s Day gift for all you grown-ups out there. Not us though, we’re still young and cool – we still listen to Take That and eat Dairylea.

‘Spray Rating: 3.5/5

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