Oh for a pure comedy. One where the laughs aren’t put on hold because of some heart-warming resolution or because it’s “important” that you understand this is the serious bit. And where the comedy is character driven and witty, not obvious, cheap, crass or childish.
The Way, Way Back threatens to be very good. Certainly, it starts with great promise as it channels National Lampoon’s Vacation (before that series was sequelled to death) with Steve Carrell doing Chevy Chase to Toni Collette’s Beverly D’Angelo.
Actually, for the first half hour or so it’s Allison Janney, C. J. of West Wing fame, who steals the show. She’s next-door neighbour Betty, a newly single, politically incorrect and frequently drunk older single mum out to seriously embarrass every child on holidays, including her own (especially the one with the comically lazy eye).
Sam Rockwell is also great, the smooth-talking, rapid-fire clown (not in a literal sense – though that would have been amusing), reminiscent of Bill Murray in his prime, who takes shy teenager Duncan (Liam James) under his wing.
So in case you hadn’t already guessed, this is a coming-of-age film, that meaningless genre that includes any film starring children between the ages of about 9 and 16. The only thing they have in common is that they take themselves seriously. And that’s where The Way, Way Back loses momentum.
What was an amusing and occasionally hilarious romp goes all mushy about halfway through and never gets back its mojo though it tries hard. It all ends happily. They usually do.
