Away We Go (2009)

Sometimes, I'm just so right about a movie. I had a feeling I would love this movie, and I did. I loved Maya Rudolph on SNL, and I had a feeling she would be great in a dramatic role, and she is. She plays Verona, who lives with her boyfriend, Burt (John Krasinki). At the beginning of the movie, she discovers she's pregnant, and the rest of the movie is about Burt and Verona trying to find a good (not perfect, but good) place to raise their child. Verona's parents are dead (we never find out how they died, only that they died when she was 22, I was guessing a car accident) and Burt's ditzy parents (the great Catherine O'hara and Jeff Daniels) are moving to Belgium. Burt and Verona visit relatives (her sister, his brother) former co-workers, college friends and his 'cousin' before winding up at Verona's childhood home, which she still co-owns with her sister. This movie isn't perfect, but it's better than the majority of shit out of DVD today. Burt and Verona are a smart, sweet couple who truly want to be good parents. They worry that they might turn out like the majority of parents (that you and I) see all of the time: not really bad parents, but not very good ones, either. There are some truly funny parts, but to me this was more of a drama than a comedy. Either way, I really enjoyed watching it. Both the leads give outstanding performances, and the rest of the cast is good as well. This is an unpredictable movie, in that the characters act like real people and not stereotypes. I loved it that in most of the scenes Verona is driving, even though she is six months pregnant (but looks as if she is about to give birth). I got the feeling watching this movie that Burt and Verona would turn to be super-parents, who put the needs of their child above their own. If only more parents would do that. This is a great, not well-known 'slice of life' movie that is not be missed.