Leave, and Don't Look 'Back'

The Way Way Back 
Directed by: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Written by: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Starring: Steve Carrell, Toni Collette, Alison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Liam James

You don't realize until later how important that first job is.  And I'm not talking about a paper route or weekend babysitting.  That first job where you log in hours, get a paycheck, and have that boss.   Yes, that boss who becomes a role model and an influence without even trying.  All he wanted to do was make work fun.  The first job you have comes at a pivotal moment in a your life.  The first step into adulthood and the first time you feel free.  In The Way Way Back, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's directorial debut, a first time job provides a liberating place for Duncan (Liam James) to escape his misery.  

Duncan is spending the summer at the beach house of his mother's newest boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carrell, playing against type).  The two don't get a long because, well, Trent is a bit of a douche.  In the opening of the film, as they are driving to the beach, Trent asks Duncan how he views himself, on a scale of 1-10.  When Duncan chooses not to answer, Trent offers up his own assessment - a 3.  Yes, douche indeed.  Duncan is miserable.  His mother (Toni Collette) doesn't recognize, or choses to ignore, his state of despair.  At the beach house, he's surrounded by eccentric characters - the drunk next door neighbor Betty (a scene stealing Alison Janney), married couple Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet) who have been friends with Trent for a long time.  These distractions allow Duncan to quietly slip into town where he eventually finds himself at the local water park - Water Wizz.  This is where he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell), who hires him on the spot - and him being only 14, we'll leave rules and regulations out of this - and Duncan gets his first job.  He absolutely loves it and Owen helps turn his summer around.  Owen becomes that boss.  

The ensemble cast works well together.  Even though some of the supporting characters are very one-dimensional the actors breathe enough life into them to keep the film moving at a nice pace.  At times the characters can be a bit too eccentric, leaving you to feel they are there for comedy and not story.  Betty has a young son named Peter, who is badly cross-eyed.  The character is occasionally funny, but he doesn't do anything to further the story.  In fact, he gets annoying at the end.  Trent is easy to dislike, especially since there's no change in him.  Which, there are people who are like that.  They don't' get it.  They don't see the situation they are creating.  He doesn't something awful, and his lack of remorse is insulting.   

Working from a much better script than their last outing (The Descendants ), Rash and Faxon have put together a perfectly fine coming-of-age story.  Since we are viewing the film through Duncan, a lot of interactions seem awkward or exaggerated - but that's what life is like as a fourteen-year-old.  It's never fair and always a big deal.  Fortunately, though, there's that distraction.  And, usually, it's the first job.  You have responsibility.  You have freedom.  You are around people who don't treat you like a child.  Cause, after all you're a teenager.  And that's basically an adult, right?