Away We Go

MUST-SEE: (Sam Mendes) Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski star as Ramona and Burt in this immeasurably adorable flick about two young lovers expecting a little one and trying to find their place in the world before it comes. It starts off light-hearted and comical, just skimming the edge of sincerity and sentiment. But then, the couple says goodbye to their only set of would-be grandparents and has to stop the car on the side of the road to let out frustration. Is this the pivotal fight making it the drama it claims to be? Nope. Just a sigh and a deep thought from Verona before picking at Burt until his struggles to make her laugh win out and as the audience, we are left smitten for a truly candid couple, ignorant to the world's judgement and dependent on a positive wing of fate to lend their survival. Their love is a unique gesture--one often underestimated here in our real world. They're frank. They're quick about their frankness. And, they've got their entire life packed in a hatchback to take across the US in search of the site for their perfect home. It's a labyrinth from here--a scurry to visit all the places where either family or friends have once described the bliss found in that particular city. From Madison to Phoenix to Miami, their little journey runs them through kooky pastimes and even stranger people. They face sadness and disappointment, are reminded of old scars and end up facing each other, wondering if this is something, if this life is something, they are really cut out for. Writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vita bring us solid emotion as it plays out for the real people. Real fright and real issues standing in the way of happiness are put up against a kind of love unmoved by life's tragedies, and for sure not trivial consequences. They illustrate fine ordinary people moving about their way, but doing it with such an unspoken grace, one almost unrecognizable, that by the end you're gripped, hypnotized by the the tender relationship you're watching grow on screen. Believe me, I let the tears rain on this one. It catches you off guard, literally warms your heart and soul. Your emotional ups and downs are so deeply opposed that the overwhelming ride is one unfit for nonchalance. This is serious stuff, seriously good stuff. Don't miss it.