If you were asked to compile a
dream cast for an indie comedy, who would make your list? Maybe Steve
Carrell, Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Rob
Corddry, and Amanda Peet?
If so, congratulations – your
dreams are a reality for the producers of "The Way, Way Back," a new
coming-of-age comedy going into limited release on July 5. The film is
the first directorial project for Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, the
Oscar-winning team who co-wrote "The Descendants," and the first trailer
suggests this movie will have the same balance of humor and emotional
honesty that made that movie a hit.
"The Way, Way Back" has already
picked up plenty of buzz, partly for its cast and partly because of its
wildly enthusiastic reception when it premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival in January. The movie's first showing received a standing
ovation, and Fox Searchlight quickly snapped up distribution rights for a
cool $10 million.
While "The Way, Way Back" is filled with well-known names, the
leading man is up and coming Liam James, a young actor who was a regular
on "Psych" and is currently part of the cast of "The Killing." In "The
Way, Way Back," he plays Duncan, a fourteen-year-old boy who is having
one of the worst summers of his life. His divorced mother Pam (Toni
Collette) has decided they’re spending the summer at a beachside
community with her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his daughter
Steph (Zoe Levin). Introverted Duncan doesn't like being away from home,
especially with Trent, a self-centered blowhard; when Trent demands
Duncan evaluate himself on a scale of one to ten, Duncan modestly rates
himself a six, while Trent replies that Duncan is more like a three.
Things get a little less agonizing
for Duncan when he visits the nearby Water Wizz amusement park, and
strikes up a friendship with thirty-something Owen (Sam Rockwell), a
brash self-styled ladies' man who works at the park. Owen tries to help
Duncan improve his self-image and offers some advice on impressing the
opposite sex, which comes in handy when he develops a crush on Susanna
(AnnaSophia Robb, currently starring on "The Carrie Diaries"), whose
family is staying in the cabin next door.
In addition to writing and
directing, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash both act in "The Way, Way Back" as
well; Faxon was Ben on the short-lived sit-com "Ben and Kate," while
Rash plays Dean Pelton on "Community." Judging from the trailer, they've
given the picture a tone that's genuinely funny while capturing the
emotional peaks and valleys of adolescence. And Faxon and Rash have
given some of the cast the chance to effectively play against type.
Carrell sets aside his awkward nice-guy persona to portray a man who is
confident but has little concern for the feelings of others, and Janney,
usually cast as starchy, emotionally uptight characters, seems to be
having a ball as the often tipsy and inappropriate neighbor Betty. Film
fans will get a chance to see if "The Way, Way Back" lives up to its
reputation when it arrives in theaters in July.
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