Indie Pinky Ponky…
A young and shy 14-year-old, Duncan is about to spend the summer with his mom and her new boyfriend. Duncan has no idea what the summer has in store for him. But, he is hoping it would be that one summer where all things change for good. You run into a hot girl and have crazy pool experience kind of summer. The movie, I admit, has a bumpy beginning. I understand why directors/writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash feel the need to tell Duncan’s back story. But, it was excruciating to see the kid sits and suffer through life’s unfair drama. Good thing the direction changes its pace to a fresher and better story line when Duncan reached the summer-house and meet Owen.
The reason I loved Indie movie is for its warm fuzzy feeling afterwards. The Way Way back is no different, it has all the right ingredients to make your heart twist and your mind wanders to your innocent teenage years. Thanks to its diverse cast: Liam James as Duncan is excellent, his character is likeable from the start. Sam Rockwell as Duncan’s unexpected older friend is also my other favourite. How his character relates to Duncan makes a very nice dynamic. Steve Carell as Duncan’s step father is a nice change for the funny actor. Where else Toni Collette as Duncan’s mother fits the bill. It’s also nice to see AnnaSophia Robb, I think she is very talented. The Way Way.. also have a nice Indie setting: water park. The setting just complements the movie’s coming-of-age theme perfectly.
My favourite scene is when Duncan is back where he begins… in the back of the car. His mom sits in the front seat, but abruptly she decided to move back and sits next to him. The scene was so heartfelt and poignant that it put a big smile on my face.
Mesh The Movie Freak 
Loved this film, but I do agree that Duncan was a bit hard to enjoy at first. Rockwell was fantastic in this film, and so was Carell. I actually prefer Carell to Will Ferrell!
Rockwell is good, isn’t he? He is such an underrated actor. I do like Steve Carell and Will Ferrell, but I think Ferrell is better at drama than Carell. Glad you like the movie.