Away We Go

Rating

: * * *

Verdict

:

Sam Mendes chills out with this light, fun and heartfelt comedy.

Following the intensity of suburban drama

Revolutionary Road

, director Sam Mendes lightens up with a sweet, quirky comedy about a 30-something couple expecting their first baby.

Away We Go

is the first screenplay by husband-and-wife writing team Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida (who are big in the US literary world, and also responsible for the soon-to-arrive

Where the Wild Things Are

) It's a simple idea filled with witty lines, easy to enjoy.

When Burt Farlander (Krasinski) and his girlfriend Verona De Tessant (Rudolph) discover they're unexpectedly pregnant, the fact Burt's parents Gloria (Catherine O'Hara) and Jerry (Jeff Daniels) live nearby to help them out is reassuring. But when Verona is six months pregnant, Gloria and Jerry suddenly announce they're heading off to live in Europe for two years, and will be leaving before the baby is born.

Without family tying them to Colorado, Burt and Verona decide they're free to try to find the perfect place to call home, and raise their baby. They head off on a cross-country tour to Arizona, Wisconsin, Montreal and Miami, catching up with old friends and family, and getting a variety of interesting advice on parenting.

Krasinski and Rudolph aren't well known but they're familiar faces from various TV shows, and they provide the glue that holds this story together. They're delightfully sweet, a little bit goofy and madly in love. While there is some tension in their relationship around the anxiety of becoming parents, it's refreshing to watch a nice, functioning couple, even if it's a bit cute.

Each city allows for some entertaining cameos by more familiar names, such as

The West Wing's

Allison Janney as Verona's crass and inappropriate ex-boss, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a patronising new age mother, and Melanie Lynskey who is desperate to have her own baby. While Verona and Burt are a little quirky, their not so likeable mates make them appear increasingly normal.

Away We Go

is contrived at times, it tries too hard and the episodic nature makes it feel disjointed, but thanks to charming performances by Krasinski and Rudolph it's hard not to be pulled in and to enjoy it for what it is; a sweet, tender, and ultimately moving comedy.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast

:John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph

Director

: Sam Mendes

Running time

: 88 mins

Rating

: M (Contains sex scenes and offensive language)