Movie Review: Away We Go

I’ve always loved Maya Rudolph but have never really had a reason for doing so. She was alright when she was on Saturday Night Live, and until very recently I never saw her in any films that I liked but thanks to a free screening at the University of Texas I can now say that I have seen her in a great film.

The film is Away We Go and Rudolph stars along side The Office’s John Krasinski. The two play an unmarried and rather quirky couple that is about to have their first child. Early on in the movie they decide to move to a new place and the film follows as they travel the United States and spend time with old friends and relatives as they try and find the perfect place to raise their child. The story is nice, and something different that we don’t often see in movies.

All the acting in the film is lovely, and there is a lot of it. Each person that Krasinski and Rudolph meets or revisits stand out, and some almost seem like too much, but they also all retain something real. They all seem like people that I’ve met or seen in real life. Krasinki rock a beard and some black plastic rim glasses as if to add a little more distance from his usually smirky Jim Halpert like characters, but even with out the visual help he does a great job creating and being this new character. Rudolph blew me away. The rest of the cast could have been played by anyone and Rudolph could still carry this movie. She is sweet, sincere, and beautiful.

Away We Go is something a little bit different, and something very very good.