The Way, Way Back: when parents are no help whatsoever

THE WAY WAY BACK

In the appealing coming of age story The Way, Way Back,  a betrodden teen (Liam James) gains confidence when mentored at his summer job by a lowlife (Sam Rockwell).  The kid’s mom (Toni Collette) has been rocked by a divorce (hubby found a young thing), and has rediscovered some self esteem in the attentions of a creep (Steve Carrell).  Now the kid, his mom, her insufferable boyfriend and the boyfriend’s bratty daughter are off to his summer home on the Atlantic shore.  The kid finds a job at a cheesy local water park, and funny stuff happens.

In depicting the ways that parents make their teen kids miserable, The Way, Way Back is spot on.  I’m not talking about the uncool cluelessness that makes all teens embarrassed about the even most perfect parents.  The Way, Way Back focuses on children from broken marriages who are made to feel unvalued or whose weaknesses are picked at or whose parents become too involved with their own issues.  Indeed all the kids in The Way, Way Back come from divorced families.  Even one childless marriage (Rob Corddry from Warm Bodies and Amanda Peet) is very imperfect.

Collette’s performance nails the desperation of a woman, once abandoned, for a relationship that will meet at least some of her needs.  Alison Janney is hilarious as the neighboring divorcee who is embracing her alcoholism.  The rest of the cast, including Maya Rudolph, is good, too.  Give credit to Carrell for taking on a very unsympathetic role, something not every bankable star will do.

It may not be a Must See, but The Way, Way Back is sweet, perceptive and pretty funny.

Movies to See Right Now

THE HEAT

This week’s top choice is the cop buddy comedy The Heat – the best showcase so far for Melissa McCarthy’s comic genius.

My other recommendations:

Also out right now:

I haven’t yet seen the promising coming of age comedy The Way, Way Back or the Pedro Almodovar rauchfest I’m So Excited.  Both open this weekend.  You can read descriptions and view trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

For the second week in a row, my DVD/Stream of the Week is the jaw dropping documentary The Imposter. You must see it to believe it. The Imposter is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and many other VOD providers.