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AWAY WE GOMovie Reviews
Drama about an expectant couple traveling the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Cast:John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney, Catherine O'HaraDirector:Sam MendesRelease Date:June 5, 2009DVD Release:September 29, 2009From:Focus FeaturesRating:RLength:1 hr 38 min
Away We Go played in national release to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...strikes an artful balance between satirical comedy and heart-wrenching drama." • And Clint O'Connor wrote in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "The actors might as well be holding the script as they read us their lines. It's quite the contrived enterprise. Not that it doesn't have its moments." More Reviews Below...
Away We Go Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a terrific comic drama... deftly directed by Sam Mendes ('Revolutionary Road')... often as breezy as its title, bursting with manic energy."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 139 words, 06/04/09
Richard Corliss, Time: FAIR "The most perplexing thing about this low-key but abrasive concoction is that it was scripted by two estimable writers: Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 834 words, 06/05/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "Rudolph makes Verona, in her very lack of direction, a creature of furious, defiant flesh and blood. She anchors the quirkiness of 'Away We Go,' and transcends it, too."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 06/05/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...takes an honest, humorous and ultimately moving look at the prospect of a family growing from two members to three.... a labor of love: intimate and unadorned."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 588 words, 06/04/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...strikes an artful balance between satirical comedy and heart-wrenching drama.... a movie with memorable and engaging performances."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 419 words, 06/05/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...a film by Sam Mendes, a literary tourist from Britain who has missed the point every time he has crossed the ocean.... don't be fooled. This movie does not like you."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,002 words, 06/05/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: MODERATE(cg) "Though the movie seems to take itself seriously overall, the filmmakers regularly sacrifice emotional truths for unearned laughs and easy observations."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 351 words, 06/05/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...two characters rarely seen in the movies: thirtysomething, educated, healthy, self-employed, gentle, thoughtful, whimsical, not neurotic and really truly in love."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 776 words, 06/11/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a self-satisfied film about insecure people, a quirky and episodic comic drama that squanders its genuine assets and ends up not as special as it tries to be."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 06/05/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "The strange thing about the movie is its idea that such couples are rare flowers. But you can scarcely take a step in Seattle or San Francisco or Los Feliz without meeting them in hordes."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 06/05/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Maya Rudolph is not funny.... She is, however, utterly convincing as Verona, a 34-year-old expectant mother whose thorny personality protects a tender center."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 06/19/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "Krasinski's is hard to read behind his beard and the ironic set of his mouth, and Rudolph's is vaguely sniffy and pissed-off. They're a drag, these two."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 06/01/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...there's something genuinely exploratory and original here in the depiction of people being pushed into adulthood before they're ready."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 690 words, 06/12/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...it's a bit like watching someone's dad dive into a mosh pit, or a Mumblecore movie made by David Lean... this is Dave Eggers's world, the rest of us are just living in it."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 833 words, 06/03/09
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...will no doubt appeal to readers of the hip literary journals McSweeney's and The Believer, which Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida respectively founded."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 815 words, 06/12/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...nothing about the relationship it depicts seems special or beautiful.... Burt and Verona's interaction is singular in its lack of joy. They have no delight in each other."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 06/12/09
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Every now and then a note of truth rears its lonely head... Otherwise, a game cast is left to push against the boundaries of prefab characters."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 06/12/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "...ends things in a vaguely haunting way without really resolving them, which is a good thing. Home is where you find it and life is full of doubts..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 517 words, 06/12/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "The unassuming performances by Krasinski and Rudolph help make this the first Mendes movie that feels lived-in rather than staged."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 06/12/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's condescending, judgmental, righteous... It's also the very rare American movie about men and women in their 30s - intelligent, articulate, appreciably lifelike people..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,145 words, 06/12/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Mendes ('Revolutionary Road,' 'American Beauty') has made a rarity for him: a low-key comedy with its lead characters displaying an ambling, laid-back charm."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 06/12/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: FAIR(cg) "The actors might as well be holding the script as they read us their lines. It's quite the contrived enterprise. Not that it doesn't have its moments."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 06/26/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...smart, offbeat and consistently engaging... finds a number of notable talents working admirably outside their comfort zones and, in the main, succeeding."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 594 words, 06/12/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...it has a breakthrough performance by Maya Rudolph, dialogue primed to be repeated in real life, and a hesitant optimism..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 06/25/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: EXCELLENT(cg) "...makes a nice metaphor for a rootless, self-involved culture of parents trying to get it right and getting all the wrong advice as they do."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 06/26/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "Some episodes are funnier than others, but they're all underscored by a pervasive melancholy embodied in the silent looks of fear and horror Burt and Verona often give..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 453 words, 06/26/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's refreshing to watch a couple, not just buddies, survive the ups and downs of a freewheeling road film. But 'Away We Go' often comes off as a fools' parade."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 808 words, 06/19/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...it's a bit like watching someone's dad dive into a mosh pit, or a Mumblecore movie made by David Lean... this is Dave Eggers's world, the rest of us are just living in it."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 833 words, 06/03/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Sam Mendes deftly follows the twists in the tartly funny and achingly tender script by novelists Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida.... the film sneaks up and floors you."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 05/29/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...pseudo-hip, cutesy-wootsy, cringe-inducing... steeps in an acrid undertone of misogyny -- all the bad guys are females with the wrong attitude toward motherhood."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 06/11/09
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: GOOD "...isn't all preciousness, but there's a significant pile of quirk to sift through to find its nuggets of genuine and often touching emotion."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 780 words, 06/11/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...a film by Sam Mendes, a literary tourist from Britain who has missed the point every time he has crossed the ocean.... don't be fooled. This movie does not like you."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,002 words, 06/05/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a self-satisfied film about insecure people, a quirky and episodic comic drama that squanders its genuine assets and ends up not as special as it tries to be."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 06/05/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: FAIR "...an oddly sour, unappealing road-trip scenario.... the foibles of the supporting characters are less funny than they are forced and unpleasant."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 725 words, 05/22/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a self-satisfied film about insecure people, a quirky and episodic comic drama that squanders its genuine assets and ends up not as special as it tries to be."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 06/05/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: POOR "...a film by Sam Mendes, a literary tourist from Britain who has missed the point every time he has crossed the ocean.... don't be fooled. This movie does not like you."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,002 words, 06/05/09
22.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Away We Go's reviews are separated by an average 22.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Away We Go (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Away We Go's reviews cover 83.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 22,777 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 542 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Away We Go Coverage, Volume & Length (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 20.0 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Away We Go's reviews on average broke 20.0 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Away We Go's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Away We Go (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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