Away We Go

A movie starring The Office heartthrob John Krasinski and SNL alum Maya Rudolph might evoke images of slapstick comedy. To be sure, there are a lot of comedic moments throughout the film; however, an extended improv sketch this film is not. Instead, this is a story about a couple trying to find the right place to raise their daughter while trying their best not to be total screw-ups.

When Burt's (Krasinski) parents tell the expectant couple that they are moving to Belgium a month before the baby's due date, the couple decide to find a place that will be close to people they know that can help them wade through the fear of being completely responsible for a child's life and well-being. Thus begins their cross-country journey to family and friends stretched out across the States and even up into Canada, in search for a new place to call home.

Each visit brings a cast of characters that show just how screwed up everybody is, regardless of how "normal" they come across thousands of miles away. The supporting cast, including Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan bring a lot of humor to the adventure, but Maggie Gyllenhaal takes dysfunctional to a whole new level with her character "LN"; a hippie professor from family money who feels the need to share her kooky observations on parenting and her breastmilk with any child willing. Bringing a heavier hand to the plot are old college friends Tom (Chris Messina) and Munch (Melanie Lynskey) Garnett who seem like the ideal family with their many adopted kids, until disclosing a heartbreaking series of miscarriages have kept them from having a biological child.

Director Sam Mendes does a great job of mixing humor and honesty throughout. Like most road trip stories, the ending is not the destination; the heart lies within the journey it takes to get there. Overall this is an independent film that feels like one; it doesn't try to live in a mainstream world of quick fixes and cheap laughs. It is a realistic portrayal of a grown-up love story; a snippet in time where everything is uncertain except the love that is shared.