It's sweet, I suppose, but it's also oddly inconsequential, fake and annoying.

| Aug 30, 2018

It's to the actors' credit that they retain their authenticity amidst all these well-cast but cartoonishly drawn cutouts. Then again, perhaps Mendes's point was to throw Burt and Verona into relief by making everyone else a little ridiculous,

| Mar 28, 2018

Overall, the movie was touching, funny at times, and really conveyed an imperfect couple's search for the perfect parenthood.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 12, 2017

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 18, 2011

Navel-gazing malarkey.

| Original Score: 2/6 | Nov 17, 2011

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 3, 2011

Sam Mendes' Away We Go is two thirds of a good film. Many good laughs. A decent concept. No follow through.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 9, 2009

Mendes paints in broad strokes, but in this case he seems little more than an interpreter of his screenwriters' obsession with innocence.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 9, 2009

Away We Go is the cinematic equivalent of Innocent smoothies: it appears to talk like 'us', while all the time reducing us to another consumer demographic.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2009

While cynics may find it twee, Mendes fans should greatly enjoy this (gently) surprising change of direction. Go in with the right frame of mind and you'll leave with a big, goofy grin on your face.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2009

That every supporting character is depicted as insufferable or pitiable or both would be bad enough; what's worse is that the couple discover nothing about themselves that wasn't obvious from the opening.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 18, 2009

Away We Go is a reminder that being a successful author does not mean you can dash off a screenplay without learning the craft.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 18, 2009

Away We Go has an easy, no-particular-place-to-go looseness that doesn't bear too close a scrutiny, but has a certain likability.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2009

This won't go down as much of a success story for Mendes, but, unlike his more grandiose projects of late, it's not a complete dead end.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 18, 2009

The more the film insists that we see Verona and Burt as perfect, the more smug and unreal they appear. The messy mix of twee maundering and frat-boy slapstick might work if one thing were added: a caption at the end that read: "... and then Burt woke up"

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2009

Potentially poignant stories are presented with the same caricatural brusqueness or dispassion as the stories of people who are plain stupid.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 18, 2009

Away We Go is slight, implausible and more fuddy-duddy than it wants to let on, but it's well-made, interesting, cynical enough to undercut its moments of sentimentality, and kind of fun. When I came out, I felt a little more cheerful than when I went in.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2009

It certainly lacks director Sam Mendes's typically epic touch. But if you're not expecting another American Beauty, you'll find it a pleasant, enjoyable little indie movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2009

Terrific performances make this tender if slight little film worth the trip.

Full Review | Jun 26, 2009

See it for the performances -- they are delights from the leads on down to the characters in the episodic vignettes. But the film's vision of Gen-Y nesting is liable to leave you up a tree.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 19, 2009