In the coming-of-age tale “The Way Way Back”, Duncan is an awkward 14-year-old outcast who finds himself at a beach-side summer house with his mother, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s adolescent daughter. Actually, he “finds himself” for real on this summer vacation when he ventures out on a borrowed bicycle and comes across a water-park called “Wizz World”. It is at this water-park that Duncan meets its owner, Owen (Sam Rockwell), a reckless, comical, charismatic man who befriends Duncan (Liam James) and sets him up with a summer job at “Wizz World”. It is here that Duncan really starts his journey of self-discovery because Owen guides him in how to be independent and carefree despite his own irresponsible nature.
The Water-Park offers a recluse for Duncan because back at the beach-side summer house, he finds he doesn’t really have anyone to talk to and can’t relate to anyone. We are made aware of this early on in the car when his mother’s boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carrell) asks him to rate himself on a scale of 1-10. Duncan ventures a 6 but Trent lets him know that he is actually only a 3. It is this sort of demeaning, snotty behavior that Duncan finds he must get away from.
There are potential love interests for Duncan as well. The neighboring house on the beach is home to a single mom and her cute daughter who is a couple years older than Duncan. There is some potential there but there are obstacles to overcome, including Duncan’s own self-doubt and lack of confidence.
The film also stars Toni Colette as Duncan’s mom and Alison Janney as the neighbor. The performances are good. The problem I had with this film is that its lead actor, Liam James is too dour and lemon-sucker-faced to carry a film. Also the emotional pay-off scenes seem forced and contrived. There seems to be a big build-up to certain scenes which is not exciting and totally unconvincing. There are some good qualities to this film but it doesn’t add up to a very good movie.
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