Home Is Where the Heart Is
Away We Go
Review by Ross Anthony

From Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty, comes a quirky film that feels more like it was inspired by the Coen brothers.

Burt and Verona find themselves in their thirties ready to grow some roots and start a family. The only problem is, they don't know exactly where (geographically speaking) to start breaking ground on this new life. They scratch down a handful of cities where they visit friends and relatives, seeing if the vibe is right.

Very well acted and directed, the production nestles nicely into a sweet rocking motion between humor and heart. The leads are warm, fuzzy, funny and very likeable. In fact, these dynamics so charm audiences that minimal faults in the script and/or realization may very well go unnoticed.

There's only one scene that falls short of realization. In Montreal, a group of adopted kids are meant to steal away our loving couple with a beautiful magic. We can see that the couple feels the magic, but it doesn't quite enchant audiences as I'm sure the filmmakers had hoped.

The other fault lies in the scripting. Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate without spoiling. Suffice to say, the film's resolution/close lacks resound because the script did not effectively set it up. There were a few excellent scenes that prepared us, but there needed to be more. That said, I really enjoyed the emotional climax and would have rather the film faded to black while the leads lay on their backs in the backyard on the brother's trampoline.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --


  • Away We Go. Copyright © 2009.
  • Starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Chris Messina, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Schneider, Jim Gaffigan, Josh Hamilton, Melanie Lynskey. Directed by Sam Mendes. Screenplay by Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida. Produced by Edward Saxon, Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf at Big Beach/Focus. Music Composed by Alexi Murdoch. Released by Focus Features.

Grade..........................B+ (2.5/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Thursday, 21-May-2009 16:18:02 PDT