The Way, Way Back
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 5, 2013
7.9
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 228 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
191
Mixed:
32
Negative:
5
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
6
TVJerryJul 22, 2013
A super sulky pubescent (Liam James) is stuck with his mom and her bf (Toni Collette & Steve Carell in a non-comic role) at a summer beach house. He finds fun and friendship at a local water park. The plot's familiar, so it's up to theA super sulky pubescent (Liam James) is stuck with his mom and her bf (Toni Collette & Steve Carell in a non-comic role) at a summer beach house. He finds fun and friendship at a local water park. The plot's familiar, so it's up to the storytelling and characters to make it special. Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney create enjoyable people, but the rest of the people aren't especially interesting. It's predictable and things take too long to happen. Except for Sam Rockwell (as the mentor), things aren't that funny or heartfelt when they do.… Expand
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5
BurbisJul 13, 2013
Sweet movie but fairly simple plot. Seems like it takes place in a few days. As a coming-of-age-working-at -an-amusement-park flick, Adventureland was better.
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6
sanyrubApr 14, 2014
Very nice little film. Good script with a heart and great character development. The whole cast does a great job but Allison Janney and Toni Collette are especially good in this. Both are actresses with a lot of experience and it shows. TheyVery nice little film. Good script with a heart and great character development. The whole cast does a great job but Allison Janney and Toni Collette are especially good in this. Both are actresses with a lot of experience and it shows. They are great. The main character (the teen boy) does a great job too. It is a movie with a little bit of comedy but also some really touching moments, especially towards the end and the mother´s situation. I recommend it without a doubt.… Expand
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5
LOTRJul 21, 2013
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Underwhelming. Allison Janney is great, as is Sam Rockwell, but I felt The Way, Way Back lacked a satisfying ending. Perhaps the filmmakers wanted to avoid a crowd-pleasing finale, but the movie is already chock-full of cliché moments. And at times it felt I was watching two different movies one exploring the trials of divorce, and the pain of infidelity, and then another filled with teenage angst and a stereotypical coming-of-age-summer.… Expand
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6
sirgarlandAug 20, 2013
Disappointing. Sam Rockwell and Janney characters were over the top. Didn't care about any of the characters.------------------------------------------------------
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5
StavNeuseJun 21, 2018
The film itself and the directing is much too elementary to be different, and the funniest thing is, all the actors are good except the main one. It's mildly entertaining at some points, but overall, not worth it.
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6
DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is mostly a family related drama film (with some amusing moments) which features themes including shyness, unlikely friendships and parties. The plot is rather mundane, depicting a young boy being begrudgingly put in a situation he clearly doesn't feel comfortable with. Its a situation many introverted people can relate to, me included, with the loud, gobby people trying to out-do others and the like. I didn't find the film especially engrossing or exciting as such, somewhat unsurprisingly, although I did empathise with the main character, Duncan, wanting to find somewhere he can feel comfortable and enjoy himself, away from bickering and so on.

Cast wise, Liam James does very well at portraying a somewhat disillusioned, downbeat and quite quiet teenage boy. Owen, the other main character, who befriends Duncan, is played by Sam Rockwell. He is quite a cocky type, fairly amusing at times and I enjoyed how he tries to get Duncan to come out of his shell. He isn't as clever or amazing as he seems he thinks he is but there are definitely some cringe-y type funny scenes with the two of them, which I found entertaining. Other cast members include Steve Carell as Duncans mothers partner, Trent and Toni Collette as Pam.

The music played is mostly upbeat, fairly jolly, summer type songs, including pop/rock type ballads from the 80s (such as Kyrie by Mr. Mister). I found the film quite an easy watch - it was pretty average overall and I'm not sure I can say much more than that. While there are some amusing moments (as mentioned), the film is marketed as being a comedy drama but I don't think its entirely fair to categorise it as that. Suffice to say, this isn't the sort of film which is going to have you burst out laughing, although (ironically) various characters in the film do laugh quite alot. As a drama it is quite slow but the characterisation is good and I enjoyed watching it, it just isn't a big exciting type of a film.

Content wise, this film contains some mild sex references or crude remarks and a few instances of strong language. There are some drug references and scenes with people drinking alcohol, with mentions of the effects of being inebriated via certain characters. There is no real violence of such to mention and the film isn't in any way frightening as such. Due to this, the film has been given a 12 rating.

This isn't a bad film and it isn't a particularly good one either, so I suppose I'll opt for undecided as far as recommending this is concerned. Its an easy watch and is somewhat amusing in parts but its not particularly funny and the plot is quite slow and perhaps a little meandering, so it won't appeal to everyone. Hopefully what I've said is enough to help you gauge if you'd like to see it or not.… Expand
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