Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in ... Read allShy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 31 nominations
- Kyle
- (as Robert Banfield Capron)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsMicrophone visible inside Owen's shirt when he and Duncan are on top of slide.
- Quotes
Owen: [in mock seriousness] I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.
Duncan: What?
Owen: Yeah, you're going to have to take off. I'm getting complaints. You're having way too much fun. It's making everyone uncomfortable.
Duncan: Okay.
[walks away from picinic table where he has been sitting alone]
Owen: Hey, hey! Whoa, whoa. I'm just kidding. Wow! That wasn't even my best stuff. Are you for real? Listen, I can tell you're in complete awe of our picnic table. It is one-of-a-kind, except for the 200 other ones here that are exactly like it. There is more to the park to be seen.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.185 (2013)
Steve Carell plays Trent, the condescending and bullying boyfriend who has no redeeming qualities that we can see (other than the beach house and a nice tan). Duncan's mom is played by Toni Collette, and her character Pam is a divorced, insecure single mom trying to balance her own happiness with that of her teen-angst-filled son. Pam and Duncan are the outsiders in this beach community as we quickly learn when next door neighbor Betty (Allison Janney) shows up with drink in hand and gossip for all.
The well worn movie signs are all here ... we recognize the characters and their struggles, in fact, we all know someone like each of the people that co-writers and co-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash present to us. We understand quickly that this is yet another coming-of-age tale with mostly clueless adults. Despite that, this one still mostly works. The writing and acting are such high quality that even though we are living in movie cliché-land, we still find ourselves caring about Duncan and Pam, laughing at Owen, and tossing tomatoes at Trent (Carell).
Special recognition to Sam Rockwell. Even though Duncan is the key character, it's Rockwell's Owen who recognizes that a little faith and encouragement goes a long way. Behind the facade of rapid-fire banter and laugh-inducing one-liners, Owen is coming to grips with a life of reality and shattered dreams. While never stooping to the typical Hollywood "win one for the Gipper" speech, Owen manages to instill a bit of confidence in Duncan ... to the point where he refuses to let his mother pretend everything is OK with Trent.
AnnaSophia Robb plays the cute girl-next-door who recognizes potential in Duncan, but the filmmakers never allow this to turn into some ridiculous fairy tale. Instead we get characters who are each flawed, but real and recognizable. While all the typical pieces are present, there is enough crackle to the dialogue and quality acting to help this one rise above the usual muck. It's a nice "little" alternative to the giant summer blockbusters. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash won an Oscar for co-writing The Descendants with Alexander Payne. In their directorial debut, they prove that they also have skills as filmmakers. The next one could be even better!
- ferguson-6
- Jul 6, 2013
- Permalink
- How long is The Way Way Back?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Desde muy, muy atrás
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,506,546
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $552,788
- Jul 7, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $26,474,920
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1