Steve Carell is a major douche in the trailer for The Way, Way Back

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The moment I started watching the trailer for THE WAY, WAY BACK I drew comparisons to LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. At first it was because of Steve Carell and Toni Collette appearing on screen but also because the tone of the movie is similar. A family dealing with changes to their dynamic, a son alienated from the parents, and a cast of quirky characters. I also was reminded of THE DESCENDANTS, which was fitting as well seeing as this is the directorial debut of Jim Rash and Nat Faxon, the Oscar winning screenwriters of the Alexander Payne/George Clooney movie.

THE WAY, WAY BACK, as it was so well put by our reviewer Chris Bumbray>, feels like a mainstream movie masquerading as an indie film. Sure enough, the trailer evokes JUNO and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, whose producers also bring us this film. There is nothing wrong here, it just feels a little by the book.

The large cast featuring Carell, Collette, Rash, Faxon, as well as Allison Janney, Rob Corrdry, Annasophia Robb, Maya Rudolph, Sam Rockwell, and Amanda Peet look to do a good job with both the dramatic elements and the comedy scenes. But, just from this trailer I can tell that Collette and Rockwell are likely going to end up together, Carell is going to learn the error of his douche attitude, and the family will reunite over some sort of trauma or revelation. See, kind of by the book.

THE WAY, WAY BACK is going to be a movie that everyone loves when it hits theaters and again when it hits home video but after a while it will probably fade back with similar movies like Carell’s DAN IN REAL LIFE. I will probably check this one out when it is released on July 5, 2013.