“Before you know kindness as the deepest thing
inside, you must know sorrow as the other
deepest thing”- Naomi Shihab Nye
Directed and co-written by Nat Faxon and Jim
Rash who won an Oscar for the Best Adapted
Screenplay for The Descendants, The Way Way Back
is a warmhearted and beautifully realized teen
comedy that is as poignant as it is funny.
Though there are more coming-of-age films than
references to God in the Bible, very few have
really hit home for me as much as this one. Of
course, there are the usual complaints from
critics about how it “doesn't break any new
ground” as if it was a construction site, but to
me it felt fresh and alive with real and
relatable characters far removed from the
stereotypes of most films in this genre.
In the film, 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James) is
a sullen, withdrawn adolescent whose shaky
self-image is not helped by his divorced mother
Pam's (Toni Collette) and her obnoxious
boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell), or his snippy
daughter Steph (Zoe Levin). On the drive to
spend the summer at Trent's beach house called
“The Riptide,” Trent asks him how he would rate
himself on a scale of one to ten. Not normally
being asked to rate oneself, Duncan might have
said “two thumbs up,” if he thought about it,
but all he can think of to say is a six.
When Trent tells him (calling him Buddy as he
does throughout the film as if he has no name)
that he thinks he is a three because he doesn't
put himself out to people, he might think he is
showing some tough love, but the result is that
Duncan is pushed deeper into his shell. As
Albert Einstein said, "Only two things are
infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and
I'm not sure about the former." At the New
England beach house as his mother tries to make
everyone happy, Duncan has to deal with adults
whose maturity level on a scale of one to ten
might be so low as to be off the charts. There
is the boozy and off-the-wall neighbor Betty
(Allison Janney) as well as Trent's friends Kip
and Joan (Robb Corddry and Amanda Peet), all
engaging in what Betty calls “Spring break for
adults.”
To make matters more uncomfortable, Betty's
daughter Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), who is
slightly older than Duncan, tries to engage him
in conversation but the stoop-shouldered boy is
too withdrawn to respond. He is more at ease
with Betty's younger son Peter (River Alexander)
who is constantly being teased about his
unfocused left eye. On one of his frequent bike
rides on the pink bike he discovers in the
garage, however, Duncan finds a kindred spirit
at the Wizz World Water Park in the person of
Owen (Sam Rockwell), the park's manager. As
care-free and ungrounded as some of the other
adults in the film, Owen has one attribute the
others lack. He has a terrific sense of humor
and takes an interest in the people around him.
These include long-time employee Maya Rudolph
(Caitlyn) who had only planned to stay one
summer but is drawn back by Owen's charm and
wit. Owen also takes an interest in Duncan but
it is not the “brother you need help” attitude.
He gives him a job at the park's pools and
waterslides to help boost his self-esteem, a job
which neither Trent nor his mother know anything
about. Sam Rockwell's performance as Owen is
pitch-perfect. Even though his communication
with Duncan is mostly full of wisecracks, there
is an underlying connection between the two that
is not based on need alone. Pure and simple,
they like each other and it shows, as does the
remarkable chemistry displayed by the entire
ensemble cast.
Duncan's transformation happens gradually,
however. As he finds himself being accepted by
the park's employees, his shoulders begin to
straighten out, there is a hint of a smile on
his face as well as a new look of confidence.
Lian James, a Vancouver actor, not only
disappears into the role of Duncan, he is Duncan
and his struggle to reconnect with the world he
has been estranged from is so honest and painful
that we identify with him and want to help him,
in Langston Hughes words, “to break his shadow
into a thousand lights of sun.” As in many great
films, The Way Way Back has laughter and tears
in equal measure.