The Way Way Back is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nat Faxon and
Jim Rash in their directorial debut. The film stars Liam James, Steve Carell, Toni Collette,
Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell, and Maya Rudolph, with Rob Corddry, Amanda
Peet, Faxon and Rash in supporting roles. It premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Plot 14-year-old Duncan reluctantly goes on summer
vacation to a beach house in a small seaside town near Cape Cod with his mother, Pam, her
boyfriend Trent and Trent's daughter Steph. Trent verbally and emotionally abuses Duncan,
often making comments and gestures that are belittling and rude to him. On the way to
the beach house, Trent asks Duncan to rate himself on a scale of one to ten, and tells
Duncan he thinks Duncan is a three. They arrive at the beach house and are greeted by the
neighbors, hard-drinking Betty, her children Susanna and Peter, and married couple Kip
and Joan. Later that evening, Duncan and Susanna have an awkward conversation from their adjacent
porches. Duncan discovers a pink, sparkly "girl's bike"
in the garage of the beach house and begins exploring the town. He eventually runs into
the staff of the local water park, Water Wizz, at a pizza joint. He has a brief interaction
with the manager, Owen, while Owen is playing Pac-Man. Owen takes Duncan under his wing
and shows him around the park. Duncan is introduced to the park's colorful, rag-tag group of employees:
Caitlyn, Lewis, and Roddy. Several kids at the water park speak reverently of a legendary
pass in the tube slide, wondering how it could have been done. Owen hires Duncan for odd
jobs at the Water Wizz. Outside the park, Duncan is continually abandoned
by his mother, Pam, who indulges in drinking, staying out at night, and smoking marijuana
with other adult vacationers. At a Fourth of July cookout, Susanna sees that he is upset
about this and invites him to go hunting for ghost-crabs with her and Peter, where she
talks about her absent father and helps Duncan to open up. Later that night, Duncan witnesses
Trent and Joan kissing by the side of the house, but does not reveal what he saw.
Pam begins to suspect Trent and Joan are having an affair, but Trent convinces her nothing
is going on. Later, Duncan confronts Pam in front of friends and neighbors and tells her
to face up to Trent's affair and get rid of him. Trent in turn tells Duncan his divorced
father doesn't want him. Duncan stalks away. Susanna follows him and comforts Duncan out
on the beach. Duncan attempts to kiss Susanna, but she moves away, which makes him become
even more upset. Accompanied by Peter, Duncan sneaks away to Water Wizz where Owen is throwing
a going away party for Lewis. After spending all night with his friends
at Water Wizz, Duncan is still at the park the next morning, refusing to leave. Owen
confronts him and asks him why he doesn't want to go home. Duncan opens up to Owen about
his relationship with Trent and how the water park is the only place where he is happy.
Owen sympathizes with Duncan's problems, saying that he grew up with an emotionally abusive
father, which led to his disdain for patterns and rules. He tells Duncan there's a big world
out there, and Trent's nasty remarks are more about himself than Duncan.
When Duncan arrives back at the beach house, Pam tells him they're leaving with Trent.
Betty and her kids arrive to say their goodbyes. Susanna finally kisses Duncan, admitting that
she "was just surprised" when she avoided his kiss earlier. When Trent stops for gas
on their way out of town, Duncan jumps out of the station-wagon and runs to Water Wizz,
followed by his mother, then Trent and Steph. Duncan tells Owen and the other employees
that he has to leave and tells Owen to follow him. He takes Owen to the Devil's Peak slide,
and Duncan becomes the first person to ever pass someone in the water slide while the
rest of the park watches. After finally introducing Owen to his mother, Duncan says goodbye to
everyone at the park. Owen tells Pam she has a great kid, and introduces himself to Trent
as "a good friend of the three." Trent, Steph, Pam, and Duncan regroup in the car, and head
out of town. Pam climbs into the backseat of the car and they share a smile as Trent's
protests are heard in the background. Cast
Release and box office The film had its premiere screening at the
2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film became one of the most financially successful films
to come out of the festival that year, outperforming well-known entries and Oscar-nominated films
from the previous year. It was released on July 5, 2013 in 19 theaters and surpassed
box office expectations, averaging an impressive $30,263 per screen and grossed $525,000 total
for the weekend. On July 15, 2013, the film was added to an additional 60 theaters, and
grossed $1,110,000.00. The film quickly more than doubled its modest budget of $5 million,
and is considered a box office success. Reception
The Way Way Back received positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the
film a score of 86% based on 166 reviews from mainstream critics, with a weighted average
of 7.3/10. The site's consensus stated "despite its familiar themes, The Way Way Back makes
use of its talented cast, finely tuned script, and an abundance of charm to deliver a funny
and satisfying coming-of-age story". Metacritic assigns the film a weighted average rating
of 68 out of 100 based on the reviews of 41 professional critics indicating "generally
favorable reviews". Inkoo Kang of The Village Voice called, The
Way Way Back "a crowd-pleasing summer treat, predictable in its sweetness but satisfying
all the same". BBC Radio 5 Live film critic Mark Kermode praised the performances of Sam
Rockwell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney and Maya Rudolph and similarly reasoned that whilst
"it's not world-changing, or earth-shattering" the film is "really sweet and funny". David
Gritten of The Telegraph also praised the scene-stealing performances of Janney and
Rockwell, concluding that despite a flood of similar coming-of-age films released in
2013 the film "feels warm, funny--and even fresh". Catherine Shoard of The Guardian gave
the film a positive review, concluding that "for all the longueurs, there are still enough
moments of near brilliance to sustain you through the trip". Betsy Sharkey of the Los
Angeles Times commended the film's quirky dialogue and cast performances, calling the
film "witty, heartwarming, hopeful, sentimental, searing and relatable".
By contrast The A.V. Club gave the film a C+, describing it as "generically constructed"
and "never as refreshing as it’s constantly straining to be".
Soundtrack "For the Time Being" – Edie Brickell/The
Gaddabouts "Kyrie" – Mr. Mister
"Out the Door" – Ben Kweller "Come and See" – Young Galaxy
"Running Wild" – Army Navy "Young Blood" – UFO
"Shine" – Wild Belle "New Sensation" – INXS
"Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" – Robert Palmer
"Young at Heart" – The Rondo Brothers/Tim Myers
"Recess" – Eli "Paperboy" Reed "Power Hungry Animals" – The Apache Relay
"Alone" – Trampled by Turtles "Go Where the Love Is" – Edie Brickell/The
Gaddabouts "The Way Way Back" – Rob Simonsen
Accolades References
External links The Way Way Back at the Internet Movie Database
The Way Way Back at Rotten Tomatoes The Way Way Back at Metacritic
The Way Way Back on Facebook The Way Way Back at Box Office Mojo