Rudolph shines in poignant 'Away We Go'

• By BRETT TROXLER
• WBRZ Web Producer
• Published: Jun 29, 2009

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In “Away We Go,” Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (John Krasinski) think they have everything under control six months into their first pregnancy. A couple of unmarried 30-somethings, they have grown comfortable in their new home, knowing Burt’s parents are just down the road when they need a little guidance.

But that all changes when they learn the grandparents-to-be have spontaneously decided to move to Belgium for two years, leaving them alone, in a rut, with self-doubt up to their knees.

The two embark on a city-by-city search for a new place to raise their child. Away they go, by plane and by train, on a trip that not only begins a new chapter in their lives, but also one that teaches the couple they aren’t the screw-ups their cardboard window and lowly space heater indicated.

For Rudolph, a regular on Saturday Night Live for the last 10 years, this is a breakout role. Verona’s aversion to marriage has a lot to do with the deaths of her parents in her 20s -- losses with which she hasn’t quite come to terms. She’s a complex character with an honest heart, despite her alternative views on love and marriage, and Rudolph gives Verona everything she has in a truly touching performance.

Krasinski (“The Office”) complements Rudolph’s Verona as Burt, and the role fits him like a glove -- with maybe a hole in one of the fingers. He embraces Burt’s soft-spoken demeanor, clumsy fumbling presence and childlike outbursts. Together, Rudolph and Krasinski give the couple an endearing sort of chemistry, appearing to relish in the dorkiness long-lasting couples can be guilty of in their moments of privacy.

If Burt and Verona provide the canvas and the outline, the fringe characters in “Away We Go” give the film its color. Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara are Burt’s parents, a lover of adjectives and a master of blunt invasiveness, respectively. Jim Gaffigan is Lowell -- dry, pessimistic and husband to Lily (Allison Janney), who wouldn’t know tact or manners if they slapped her in the face. And on and on it goes, from the free-spirited/psychotic “LN” (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to the broken-hearted yet eternally hopeful couple, Tom (Chris Messina) and Munch (Melanie Lynskey).

At its heart, “Away We Go” is about the importance of love -- the glue that keeps family together. But aside from this human emotion, it’s also about the varieties of human opinion, and the journey from one lifestyle quirk to the next is tremendously amusing. The film avoids the slapstick to find true humor, even if the language walks mostly on the other side of the R-rated line

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that director Sam Mendes -- with a resume that includes “Revolutionary Road” and “American Beauty -- has hit another home run with “Away We Go.” Backed by a wistful soundtrack, it’s poignant and funny, a film perfect in its awkwardness and capable of drawing out tears in the most surprising of settings. And just as it does for Burt and Verona, the journey serves as a reminder to us all that just when we think our situation might be unfortunate or unbelievable, there is certainly something more painful or more bizarre right around the corner.