Away We Go (2009)

With the music and the mood from the get-go Away We Go feels like Garden State a decade later. There's a familiar-feeling airport scene and time spent in the dark wondering about failure. But it's not a repeat of Garden State and it definitely isn't some sort of sequel. While Garden State was ideal for the disillusioned twenty-something audience, Away We Go's appeal is broader.

We're following Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph), a devoted couple in their mid-30s who've recently discovered Verona is pregnant with the couple's first child. They live near Burt's parents since Verona's have passed away. But when Verona is at the 6-month mark, Burt's parents (the amusing Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) announce they're moving to Belgium. Now with nothing tying them to their current home, they set out on a trip to discover where would be the best place to raise their child.

Along the way they visit with an interesting cast of characters they've known throughout their lives. Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Carmen Ejogo, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, and Paul Schneider all provide memorable, and in some cases awkward and ridiculously entertaining, performances.

The husband and wife team of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida have provided a script that is willing to show the good and bad of every situation while remaining delightful, hopeful, and clever. And while Eggers is known for his novels such as A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and You Shall Know Our Velocity, this is Eggers and Vida's first screenplay, making this story victory all the more sweet.

The way Burt and Verona handle their situation is nearly inspirational; things don't rock their worlds, they just roll with it and say, "Ok. We're doing this now." John Kransinski is allowed to be the goofy, good-intentioned one and it's refreshing to see him in a role where he's not playing the straight man to someone else's comedy, making faces. And Maya Rudolph, known for her time on Saturday Night Live, seems toned down. She's not there to be the comedic relief or to act absurdly. Instead she gives a sweetly understated performance.

And if the movie wasn't already impressive enough, it also is the first studio production to take green (environmentally-friendly) initiatives to reduce CO2 emission. Garbage was reduced by half, thanks to the various bins for recyclable material. Caterers used ceramic and washed dishes as opposed to throwaway products. Vehicles on the set used biodiesel fuel.

Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: 98 minutes of quirky sweetness

Leatherheads (2008)

George Clooney directs himself in a story about the revamping of US professional football in the mid 1920's. Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, an aging football player. The movie also stars John Krasinski, as Carter Rutherford - college football and WWI hero - who has been recruited to bring life back into the collapsing pro league. Renee Zellweger jumps in as Lexie Littleton, the Chicago newspaper reporter sent to find out if Rutherford's heroism was real. It's a mildly interesting setup that makes for a mildly interesting movie.

Clooney does well with some 1920's-style comedy film nods but the film isn't completely cemented in retaining that film style, which sometimes makes it all come off a bit too goofy for a modern audience although it could still be appreciated by film connoisseurs. The love triangle between the leads was a given but when one player asserts his dominance about halfway through, the premise becomes a throwaway. The dialogue has some great exchanges enhanced even more so by the actors' rapid-fire volleying. Unfortunately as the movie progresses, it gets bogged down by a continually slowed overall pacing until the end of the film is slowly dragging itself through the mud - literally. It was a nice effort and it looks like everyone involved gave it their best, but overall it was just an okay film.

Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: Someone who has nothing to do for two hours and doesn't mind Renee Zellweger, George Clooney, or John Krasinski.

Extended Review: After the smart banter, the next best thing about this film is the story behind Rutherford's WWI medal. In a modern film, the focus would have been on Rutherford as he retells how he accidentally got a whole enemy squad to surrender. But in keeping with the 1920's style, we're treated to a flashback of the event. The lucky confusion of the enemy isn't the funniest plot point ever, but it is clever. And once he returns from the flashback, Krasinksi wears the story like a weight around his neck bringing a bit more depth to his character in a film full of rather flat characters.

License to Wed (2007)

We see it's not such a good idea to stop communicating with someone you plan on marrying in this rather formulated romantic comedy. John Krasinski plays Ben, who - in the first ten minutes of the film - embarrasses himself in front of, meets, dates, embarrasses himself some more in front of, and gets engaged to Sadie, played by Mandy Moore.

After Ben proposes, they apparently have 5 seconds in which to decide where they will get married. Ben wants to have a destination wedding while Sadie wants to get married in a church she hasn't even attended in 10 years, but alas, it's part of her typical wedding plan concocted in childhood. From there on, Sadie's not a team player and thus it's harder and harder for Moore to make her sympathetic.

To top it off, the church requires a pre-wedding course run by the incredibly creepy Rev. Frank, played by Robin Williams. Not-so-hilarious antics ensue as they go through Frank's tests - the most creepy and disturbing of all involving robotic twin babies.

The movie becomes increasingly uncomfortable and brushes against the point where you just want to shut off the movie. The ending's predictable, but if you like to know where your movie is going at all times and like only like to be surprised by new heights of corny line delivery, it'll be just right. Bottom line: Kransinski manages to hold his own. Williams stretches his creepy muscles. And it's nice to see cast member from The Office outside of The Office.

Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: Fans of predictable romantic comedy and adults who haven't realized it's pretty important to communicate with your significant other.

Extended Review: Rev. Frank's sidekick minister-in-training seriously gives the best line deliveries and may very well be the best part of the movie. The kid totally commits to the character/performance. Meanwhile you can't tell if his mentor, Rev. Frank, wants to see Sadie & Ben fail, just enjoys watching people fail, or seriously wants to prepare them but just is incredibly socially awkward. Sadly the film does venture into reality in some of its couples' behavior. There are also plenty of bridezillas out there who've had a dream wedding planned all her life and she's not about to let anything or anyone (like the person she's marrying) get in her way. More of the film's uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Mandy Moore plays this role. She's normally so darn likeable and in those few cases she's not supposed to be, you even like to not like her. Here, you don't really like her, but you don't like that you don't like her. Sort of like this film.