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The Way, Way Back
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
Watch Instantly with ![]() | Rent | Buy |
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Genre | Comedy |
Format | Multiple Formats, AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen |
Contributor | Rob Corddry, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Tom Rice, Maya Rudolph, Amanda Peet, Toni Collette, Zoe Levin, River Alexander, AnnaSophia Robb, Allison Janney, Jim Rash, Kevin J. Walsh, Liam James, Nat Faxon See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 43 minutes |
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Product Description
THE WAY, WAY BACK is the funny and poignant coming of age story of 14-year-old Duncan's (Liam James) summer vacation with his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), her overbearing boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and his daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin). Having a rough time fitting in, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in gregarious Owen (Sam Rockwell), manager of the Water Wizz water park. Through his funny, clandestine friendship with Owen, Duncan slowly opens up to and begins to finally find his place in the world - all during a summer he will never forget.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.08 ounces
- Item model number : 27617930
- Director : Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 43 minutes
- Release date : October 22, 2013
- Actors : Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Sam Rockwell
- Dubbed: : Spanish, French
- Subtitles: : Spanish, English, French
- Producers : Kevin J. Walsh, Tom Rice
- Studio : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
- ASIN : B00DL46ZN8
- Writers : Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #33,268 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #3,914 in Comedy (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
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
You're the one who said he was a three right ?
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2013Written and directed by the team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (winners of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants), The Way, Way Back is absolutely one of the best films of 2013 so far. And even saying that feels inadequate because it's such a fine film, a coming-of-age comedy/drama with a great script, fine performances by a superb cast, and directed with a flawless natural touch so that there's never a moment where things feel false or forced.
The Way, Way Back is seen from the point of view of Duncan (Liam James), the shy and awkward fourteen-year-old son of recently divorced Pam (Toni Collette), as they head out on a summer vacation with Pam's also-divorced boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and Trent's teenaged daughter Steph (Zoe Levin). Riding in the back of Trent's station wagon, Duncan is visibly less than thrilled at the prospect. It's quickly apparent why in the opening scene when Trent engages Duncan in conversation while Pam and Steph are sleeping, asking Duncan to rate himself on a scale from one to ten. When Duncan shrugs and rates himself a middling "six", Trent immediately responds with a down-putting
"I think you're a three. You know why I think you're a three? Since I've been dating your mom, I don't see you putting yourself out there, bud. The good news is that there are going to be plenty of opportunities for you to take advantage of at my beach house this summer. It's a big summer for all of us really. So what do you say you try to get that score up huh? Aim a little higher than a three? You up for that, buddy?"
Which tells us everything we need to know about Trent and how he deals with people.
When they arrive at Trent's beach house, they are immediately greeted by neighbor, Betty (Allison Janney), who like Pam is divorced with kids, teenage daughter Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and younger son Peter (River Alexander). Later on they are joined by Trent's friends Joan (Amanda Peet) and Kip (Rob Corddry). Duncan feels distinctly out of place and increasingly miserable. Trent and Pam are always partying with Trent's friends (with Trent constantly seeming to find ways to intimidate or humiliate Duncan). Steph is like a miniature version of her father, bossing her own clique around and not wanting anything to do with Duncan. Peter's too young to be company, and Susanna is, well, a girl, and Duncan finds it very difficult to talk to girls. Even when Susanna makes the effort to talk to him.
Desperate to get away from the beach house, Duncan finds a small girls' bike - probably Steph's when she was younger - in the garage and takes a ride into the nearby town. At the local pizzeria he sees Owen (Sam Rockwell) busily playing Pacman on an old videogame machine. After watching for a bit, Duncan mentions that there's a trick to the game - a pattern to follow that'd make it a lot easier. Owen looks at Duncan like he's crazy. "What fun is that?" Owen retorts. "Just following a pattern?" Before he can finish his game though, Owen, who it turns out owns the local water park - the Water Wizz - gets called back to work. He still has a life left on the game, so he asks Duncan to finish up. But as Owen leaves, he calls back mock-imperiously "No pattern on _my_ quarter! Cut your own pattern!" Which tells us everything we need to know about Owen and how different he is from Trent, something that Duncan immediately picks up on.
The next day, Duncan goes to the Water Wizz, partly out of curiosity but mainly to get away from the beach house. The scene when Owen comes across Duncan sitting by himself on a bench is priceless:
Owen (deadpan serious): "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
Duncan (startled): "What?"
Owen: (still deadpan): "You're having way to much fun. It's making everyone uncomfortable."
Duncan (dejected, getting up to go): "Okay."
Owen (dropping the act when he realizes that Duncan is taking him seriously): "Wow! I was just kidding! And that wasn't even my best stuff!"
Before Duncan knows it, Owen takes him under his wing and gives him a job helping out at the Water Wizz, giving him both a place to escape to during the day and, more importantly, a place people just accept him as he is. This is the kind of summer job we all wish we had when we were kids (well, all of us who aren't future Trent's anyway). Given his first real taste of both acceptance and responsibility, Duncan blossoms in the easy-going environment, and for the first time we actually see him happy.
It's hard to say enough about the superb cast and the spot-on performances they bring. Liam James (The Killing, Psych) does a marvelous job of bringing out Duncan's coming of age, growing over the course of the film from being withdrawn and uncertain to growing in self-identity and confidence as he confronts the unpleasant realities that his mother is unwilling to face. Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine and The United States of Tara) is particularly moving as Duncan's mom, Pam, struggling to deal with being divorced, with raising a teenaged son and with her fear of being alone, and knowing that she's not doing all that good a job at any of it. Steve Carell, well-known from his many, many comedic roles, turns in a highly effective straight-laced performance as Trent, bringing out the character's manipulative and frequently demeaning nature in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Allison Janney (The West Wing)'s Betty is a nice turn as a kind of simpatico counterpoint to Pam, being another divorced mother with kids, trying to do her best and dealing with the same struggles, albeit with a fair amount of drinking, a performance at once both comic and sympathetic. Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Saturday Night Live and Up All Night) is solid as Owen's patient but reaching-her-limits girlfriend, Caitlin. AnnaSophia Robb (Bridge to Terabithia, Soul Surfer) is perfect as Susanna, Duncan's companion in summer-vacation misery and the girl who (after several tries) gets Duncan to open up some. River Alexander has some choice comic moments as Susanna's younger brother, Peter, who's desperate to escape their well-meaning but trying-too-hard mom. And writers/directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash bring good-natured comradery as Roddy and Lewis, veteran employees of Water Wizz, the water park where Duncan ends up working. But it's Sam Rockwell who gives The Way, Way Back a lot of its comic heart as Owen, the laid-back cracking-wise owner of the water park who ends up taking Duncan under his wing and giving him his first tastes of independence, of responsibility, and most importantly of acceptance for simply being who he is and not expecting him to be anything other than that.
The screenplay is extremely well done, with a nice even flow and natural believable dialogue that gives depth and development to all of the characters, and is, I feel, worthy of a Best Original Screenplay nomination come Oscar time. According to an interview, Jim Rash said that the main inspiration for the story was really the opening scene between Duncan and Trent, which was based on a similar conversation he had with his own stepfather when he himself was 14.
There is also an interesting story behind how the film ended up with the title The Way, Way Back. When the script was actually written back in 2007, the original title was The Way Back, which was easily understood given the themes of the film and the way in which it ends. However, by the time the project was green-lit for actual production, another film with the title The Way Back had just come out in 2010. So partly to avoid confusion with that film, and partly as a kind of inside joke, Faxon and Rash changed the name of their film to The Way, Way Back.
And on a last note of trivia, the Water Wizz is an actual water park in Massachusetts. Everything you see in the Water Wizz scenes - including the staff uniforms - is part of the water park, and most of the extras are locals who actually go there. A nice touch of reality that really adds to the realistic feel of the film.
Highly, highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2016Socially awkward teenager Duncan is on a family vacation for the summer and couldn’t be more miserable. His mother’s boyfriend Trent is the worst of his tormentors. In the car ride on the way to the summer home, on a scale of one to ten, Trent gives Duncan a three and tells him to “get that number up by putting [himself] out there”. As Trent and his daughter continually berate Duncan, Duncan’s mother is powerless to do anything to stop them. The only place the awkward teenager can find any happiness is at a local water park run by a sarcastically humorous slacker named Owen. Trent destroys Duncan’s self-esteem and Owen rebuilds it.
What makes me give this movie an A+ above all else is the believability of each character. When I say Duncan is a socially awkward teenager, I’m not lying. He keeps to himself most of the time, he’s constantly frowning, he speaks with a blunt affect, and he can’t make conversation with cute girls without making them uncomfortable. Duncan sounds like a teenaged version of me in real life, so you’re damn right I’m rooting for him to find the love and friendship he needs.
Trent is the exact opposite of what a heroic character should be. He criticizes Duncan for every little thing, he cheats on Duncan’s mother while criticizing her as well, and pretty much has no redeemable qualities. TV Tropes dot org would refer to him as a Complete Monster, which is an annoying sociopath with no likeable traits. I used to have a step-father named Art and he was a living, breathing caricature of Trent. Naturally, I keep cheering for Trent to get flattened by a steamroller.
Owen, the water park owner who builds Duncan’s self-worth, is everything you could ever want in a role model (apart from the slacking off). He’s funny without being mean, he’s sarcastic, he’s charismatic, and whenever he’s not being goofy, his serious side is believable and warm. One of my favorite lines from Owen’s dialogue is when he sees Duncan sitting slouched over on a beach chair and jokingly says, “Excuse me, sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave. You’re having way too much fun and it’s making everyone uncomfortable.” Duncan actually tries to get up and leave before Owen says, “That wasn’t even my best material!”
The entire character roster of The Way Way Back is special in some way. Peter is a nerdy kid who has to wear an eye-patch because his eye stares too far to the right. Susanna is a cutie pie who tries to bring Duncan out of his shell with borderline romantic love. Even Pam (Duncan’s mother) has moments when we can root for her despite her passiveness toward Trent’s abusive ways.
The Way Way Back is a movie a lot of people can relate to. Okay, so not everybody gets to work at a water park with a charismatic charmer. There are times, however, when we feel out of place. We all have someone we consider to be our greatest critic and we all have someone who will pick us up if we seek out that person’s help. The movie reminds us that love is out there and its ours for the taking. It may be far away, it may be much closer. Either way, it’s there if you look for it. It doesn’t have to be a kissy-kissy kind of love. It could just be a casual friendship. Somebody out there likes you and somebody out there cares. That’s not just a myth perpetuated by cheesy romance movies. That’s god’s honest truth. A life without love of some kind is the true definition of loneliness. If you ever feel this way, don’t let any jerk call you a “three out of ten”. Rankings can never determine the true worth within us all.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2025Good movie!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2024A quality movie with a good set of characters that make this a classic right away. A young man pictured on the cover that has to overcome awkward feelings and people to find his path in life. A heck of a film. Well played and nicely portraying human weaknesses that we see in public. Worth getting.
Top reviews from other countries
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Cliente de AmazonReviewed in Mexico on June 9, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars buena pelicula
la película tiene un buen guion de los productores de pequeña miss sunshine buenos actores y es raro ver a Steve carrel en un rol no comico
- Dr. JReviewed in Canada on October 26, 2013
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie.
I really enjoyed this movie. It is a great coming of age movie with great casting and acting all around. It was funny and sad and at time poignantly both at the same time. Others have gone over a plot summary and there is no need to repeat that. I like a lot of movies but this is the first time in my 43 years that I watched a new movie twice in a row. Another good thing about this movie is its rating which I believe is PG. I was able to watch it a third time with 2 of my kids who are 11 and 14 and they could certainly relate and understand the movie as well as enjoy the humor. If only more movies like this go made...
As a side note, the extras on the DVD were fun and very informative. Not much in the way of deleted scenes but the featurettes were interesting, insightful and worth the time.
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ZIZUReviewed in Spain on June 30, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfecto
Mejor imposible, mas barata que la edición española, y aun siendo la edición de reino unido, tiene los mismos contenidos que los del disco español, exactos, es decir todo castallano, y a demas mucho mejor presentada ya que incluye un genial slipcover.
- HelenReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars So good it could be british.
Summer holidays for the awkward Duncan couldn't be much worse, stuck with his mother's latest love interest, bullying Duncan at every turn, Steve Carell plays the boyfriend expertly, his rebellious daughter sneering at every breath Duncan takes, as they all stay at Trents' Rhode Island condo. A chance meeting with Sam Rockwell's "rebel without a cause" water park manager, gives Duncan a summer he will never forget.
One of my favourite films of all time, I love these indie films, all the substance is in the story telling through strongly written and performed characters. Allison Janney is brilliantly flighty as the next door divorcee, Maya Rudolph plays the adult next to Rockwell's charmingly overgrown kid, but Liam James smacks it out of the park as Duncan, as he discovers a side to himself, he could never have imagined ever existed.
Easy on the eye, not complicated, just the good guy finally coming out on top just by being a good guy.
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JMTReviewed in France on September 11, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Nouvelle version
Identique au titre précédent mais sous une autre version. A voir absolument.