The Way Way Back

I recently had the pleasure of viewing what in my opinion is one of the finest films of 2013.  The Way Way Back tells the story of a lonely teen named Duncan (Liam James) who is forced to accompany his mother Pam (Toni Collete), her boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) and his daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) on a trip to Trent's beach house.  It is established early on that Duncan and Trent have an antagonistic relationship and Trent constantly belittles and insults Duncan throughout the film.  Steve Carell does a fantastic job breaking the mold with this role and it was very hard to even picture him as the bumbling but kindhearted characters that he has become famous for playing.  On his first day at the beach house Duncan meets Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb), the daughter of Trent's overbearing neighbor Betty (Allison Janney), their first interaction is a little awkward and mildly uncomfortable.  Duncan soon finds a discarded pink bike with tassels on the handlebars that he uses to escape from his mother, who takes to drinking frequently and smoking pot with Trent and his friends Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet), and the abusive Trent and Steph.  On his bike ride he runs into the staff of a local water park, Water Wizz, at a local pizza place where he has an entertaining interaction about Pac-Man with the parks manager Owen(Sam Rockwell).  The next day Owen takes Duncan around the park and introduces him to the other staff members then offers him a job doing odd jobs around the park.  As the summer goes on Duncan becomes more confident because of his interactions with Owen and the other members of the Water Wizz staff and also grows closer to Susanna who he takes on a tour of the park when she follows him on her bike.  Conflicts soon arise because of Trent and Duncan is forced to leave early but it is implied that things will begin looking up for Duncan and his relationship with his mother begins to heal symbolized by her climbing through Trent's station wagon to sit with Duncan in the way way back of the title.  Overall the movie was done really well.  Casting was great and the overall feeling of the movie was very positive.  There were a few scenes where the awkwardness made me slightly uncomfortable but all in all it was a great flick with some amazing performances.  It was snubbed at the Oscars which was a criminal oversight in my opinion but it has cemented itself as one of my must have movies.  If you are looking for a good artistic film that is also incredibly entertaining do yourself a favor, go out and rent The Way Way Back.