Sydney Film Festival: The Way, Way Back (2013)

Year: 2013
Director: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Cast: Liam James, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Amanda Peet, Rob Corddry, Maya Randolph
Screening at the Sydney Film Festival on the 6th and 10th of June. Please see official website for more information on times, venues and tickets
Now showing at cinemas in the USA, opening in the UK on the 28th of August 2013
To be released in Australia on the 1st of August 2013

The Way, Way Back is the first comedy this year to really break the mould and produce something that is genuinely and effortlessly funny.

First time directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (who also star in the film) have written a wonderfully sweet and clever script that is truly hilarious.  The Way, Way Back is very entertaining and never dull with colourful performances and brilliant dialogue. It is intelligently funny, yet simplistic and uplifting in the way all feel good films should be.

We meet fourteen year old Duncan (Liam James) when he is on his way to the beach house which he will spend his summer at with his mother Pam (Toni Collette), Pam's boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) and his moody teenage daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin). Duncan struggles not to be awkward in the situation which he clearly feels uncomfortable in. He escapes his family by venturing to the town's water park and befriending owner, Owen (Sam Rockwell). In the water park, he finds a place where he can truly be happy and enjoy being himself.

This coming of age story is really one of a kind. It is not all smooth sailing and people get hurt and emotions shattered along the way. However, you still realise when leave the cinema that even though the world can bring you down, if you step outside your house there is a place out there where you can be yourself and find happiness with people who appreciate you for you. The Way, Way Back leaves you with a smile on your face and even though there are sad moments, you remember the film for the happy ones. It reminds you how there is still beauty in the world just outside your front door if you can't find it behind.

It is fantastic to finally see a comedy that relies so much on the dialogue. There are so funny antics, but the majority of the laughs come from what the characters say. Unlike many other comedies in this day and age, this film does not feel the need to use filth or sexual jokes as the basis for it's comedy. It is just good, clean comedy that is very witty and entertaining.

The majority of the laughs come from Sam Rockwell's Owen and Alison Janney who plays next door neighbour, Betty. As soon as Janney appears on the screen she starts prompting fits of laughter and Rockwell's comedic timing is amazing. These two are the two runaway stars of The Way, Way Back.

Liam James does well. He is so painfully awkward that you want to shake it out of him as his awkwardness gets to be a little too frustrating at times. Toni Collette is so very sweet and completely likable. You instantly start feeling sorry for her when things start to go haywire. It is very interesting seeing Steve Carell as the bad guy. No one would expect him to be the one in the film who has supplies next to no laughs. Yet, he still pulls it off well and is provokes dislike from the viewer, which is what he is expected to do.

AnnaSophia Robb is also right on the mark as Betty's daughter and Duncan's new found friend. She is also a very interesting character to watch. May Randolph plays water park employee, Caitlyn and has her fun moments too. Directors Faxon and Nash are also great in their roles, particularly Nash who is dryly hilarious.

The Way, Way Back's water park provides the perfect backdrop for this fun and entertaining film.  Like a waterslide, you come away smiling and thinking about how much fun you have just had.

8.5/10



On a side note.....
Movie Critical were able to attend the Australian premiere at the State Theatre for The Way, Way Back at the Sydney Film Festival last night. We were present on the red carpet to witness the beautiful Toni Collette arriving in style.


There was also a very special guest who surprised Collette on stage while she and festival director, Nashen Moodley were introducing the movie. Steve Carell, who was in Sydney for the premiere of Despicable Me 2 arrived just in time to introduce the film. It was an amazing start to the film, with the audience buzzing from seeing these two Hollywood superstars on stage.


You may have also seen Steve Carell in.....
Date Night as Phil Foster
Despicable Me as Gru 

You may have also seen Toni Collette in.....
Hitchcock as Peggy Robertson

You may have also seen Sam Rockwell in....
Iron Man 2 as Justin Hammer
Cowboys & Aliens as Doc
 
The 60th Sydney Film Festival runs from 5th-16th June 2013. Please see the official website for more information.

Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids

Year: 2011

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne

In My Own Words

                All hail the stars of Saturday Night Live! Before I lived in Los Angeles, I had only heard of Saturday Night Live, but never seen an episode or knew the fascination with it. Of course I had heard that comedians such as Mike Myers, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler had got their big breaks on the show. It was never shown in Australia on free to air television until really inconvenient times at night. So when I lived in Los Angeles, I got my first taste of SNL. Now that show is my sense of humour. I was in stitches laughing at the skit of Katy Perry singing “I saw a boat and I liked it” instead of “I kissed a girl and I liked it” and almost falling off the couch when Mark Wahlberg was having an in depth conversation with a goat about it eating apples. These things probably sound ridiculous, but my they are hilarious when SNL do it.

                After this, my roommates knew very well that I could not be out after 10:30pm on a Saturday night because I had to watch my SNL. That is one of the many things I miss about not living in the United States anymore, not having my weekly SNL fix! It is still something I watch in hotel rooms on Saturday nights when I travel back to the states.  Luckily it is shown on cable TV here so I don’t feel as disconnected from the SNL world now.

                As well as SNL being a great show, it has been the stepping stone for so many great careers. There are the three I mentioned before and many, many more. More recently there has been Amy Poehler and my hero, Tina Fey. And Bridesmaids, brings out the talents of Kristen Wiig and Maya Randolph. I am very impressed with Wiig. It was her first go at being the lead lady and I was anxious for her because she is probably my favourite on SNL out of the current cast. She is a very funny lady.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review

                Bridesmaids has been hailed by many as The Hangover for girls. This is an inaccurate statement as Bridesmaids may be about girls and may have a title relating primarily to girls, but it is not just for girls as boys will find this movie just as funny as girls. There has yet to be a film quite as funny as Bridesmaids released this year. There is actually different types of humour throughout the film so it therefore has something which everyone will find funny, although you may have to sit through some things you won’t find funny at all to get through to something which you do.

                Annie (Kristen Wiig) is not having a great time. She has had her bakery go out of business, broke up with her boyfriend and is living with very strange siblings. Yet, she has to try and put all of it behind her when her lifelong best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged and asks Annie to be her maid of honour. The group of misfits in Lillian’s bridal party tend to bring out the crazy in Annie, especially perfectionist Helen (Rose Byrne).  It is one mishap after the other until the girls just crack.

                Bridesmaids is very well written and directed with some very funny moments. The best thing is that the laughs just keep coming and it is funny from beginning to end. The laughs don’t come from just one particular source, every character is funny and quirky in their own way. There are some moments (not too many) which some people will find isn’t suited to their sense of humour and some other scenes which are meant to be funny, but are actually quite painful. Such as the first competition between Annie and Helen just gets to be annoying and strenuous to watch.

                Although sometimes exaggerated, one of the best things about Bridesmaids besides the humour, is how well it carries the story and how real the characters, situations and underlying themes are. The story doesn’t waver through all the comedy, which is sometimes a hard thing for writers to do when they are so worried about making the film funny. The themes of friendship, happiness and self worth are recurrent throughout the film and will ring true for many audience members.

                Kristen Wiig does extremely well not just as a lead actress, but also as being one of the writers of this film. Annie is so real and many people are able to relate to her. She goes through very real situations with men, herself and the other girls that she really doesn’t seem like just another movie character. It is fantastic character development and Wiig is so at ease and natural in the role.

                Maya Rudolph doesn’t do too badly, but it would have been good to see her get a bit more from the role and express a bit more emotion throughout the film. Rose Byrne is great as the attention seeker Helen. She is utterly painful and you are just waiting for her to trip. It would have been good to see her character let loose and show her craziness, rather than just shed a few tears. The unsung hero of the film is Melissa McCarthy who plays Lillian’s to be sister-in-law, Megan. She brings many laughs to the movie, but she is an absolute stand out as a character which is unconventional and awkward.

                Bridesmaids is an absolute ball of fun. Some things may offend some members of the audience, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise if you check the censors before you see the film. They aren’t there for nothing. Great characters and may even have the answers to some very real problems some people may be going through.

7.5/10