CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 6/05/09

Swept Away

By peter clines

Two award-winning novelists take a crack at screenwriting and end up with an inspired piece on love, parenthood, and travel. It may not be perfect, but it's still more honest and funny than anything that's been up on the big screen in years.

Away We Go

Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida

Away We Go is the story of Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph), a happily unmarried couple who discover they're in the family way. They've also just discovered Burt's nearby parents (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara) are moving to Europe, leaving Burt and Verona with no reason to stay in Colorado. Determined to find the best possible environment in which to raise their child—and the best possible friends for themselves—the two begin a cross-country quest. However, the more of their old friends they see (and flee from), the more Burt and Verona come to realize "parenthood" and "home" are things they're just going to have to define on their own.

Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Dave Eggers (who also co-wrote the screenplay for this Fall's Where The Wild Things Are) and his wife, novelist Vendela Vida, were tempted to write a screenplay when their own pregnancy led to day after day of bizarre incidents and stories, but didn't want it to be another predictable rom-com. The result is a story that feels honest even at its goofiest, and two lead characters who are realistic without being dark and tormented.

One of the standout things about this script is the lack of false drama. Often in films like this there would be a debate over keeping the baby and/or a separation while Burt and Verona each come to separately realize they're ready and willing to be parents. This film has none of that. Burt and Verona are completely in love and looking forward to having their child. They're a real couple, one that doesn't fly apart because of silly plot devices. The most vigorous disagreement they have is because Verona is annoyed with the "serious" voice Burt uses during business calls, and it happens fewer than 15 minutes into the film. They're almost defined more as a couple than they are as individuals.

This draws attention to the script's one flaw—one it honestly does a fine job of glossing over. Since they don't have any conflict between them, where do Burt and Verona find conflict in this story? Thing is, they really don't. Aside from a few brief moments, they are passive observers who visit city after city, family after family, soaking up the feel of each locale and each set of potential new "best friends." Neither of them have much effect on the people they visit, and most of these people have little effect on them except to serve as cautionary tales about where parenthood can go wrong. The most active we ever see them is when Burt finally snaps dealing with his old friend LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who has some interesting views on child-rearing, and a later scene where we see him bouncing on a trampoline at one in the morning while calling every number in an address book. It'd just spoil things to explain that any further.

This isn't to imply there's nothing going on here. Besides LN's particular brand of madness, there's also the cheerful nihilism of Lily and Lowell (a delightfully offensive Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan), a trio of airline attendants who refuse to believe Verona is only six months pregnant, plus a little boy in a hotel lobby who will leave you feeling very, very ashamed about how hard you're laughing. But these are all just bumps in the road, ones Burt constantly tries to smooth over as he lavishes Verona with his unique displays of cheer and affection.

When it all comes down to it, Away We Go is an elaborate character study. But rather than couching it in the pointless melodrama or introspection that has haunted this particular form as of late, Eggers and Vida have set their characters down against a comic backdrop. Even Verona's issues with her deceased mother don't drag the story down. Burt and Verona's contrast with their friends shows us the best of love and relationships rather than the deep, gritty pits of despair. And when it comes down to it, isn't that how we all want to see life?

From a strictly technical point of view, there are a number of storytelling flaws with Away We Go. Lack of conflict. Lack of antagonist. Unclear protagonist goals. On the other hand, it's a film that sets out to make the audience laugh and feel good, and in this sense it's one of the best blends of romance and comedy to be seen in ages.

Away We Go
Focus Features
Rated R; 98 min.

Buy tickets at Fandango.com

Peter Clines grew up in the Stephen King fallout zone of Maine and made his first writing sale at age 17 to a local newspaper. He currently lives somewhere in southern California, and can often be found ranting on his cleverly named blog, Writer on Writing. His first novel, Ex-Heroes, will be released in fall 2009.



Away We Go courtesy Focus Features

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