Get out of the pool; it’s time for this week’s Movies You Have Not Seen But Should! Fine…we know no one is in the pool.

The Way Way Back

Thanks for joining us for Movies You Have Not Have Seen But You Should. For this week, we will look at the 2013 dramedy The Way Way Back. The film stars include Steve Carrell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph and Sam Rockwell.

The film centers around the character of Duncan (played by Liam James, best known for his roles on the TV shows Psych and The Killing along with the film 2012), a teenager who gets dragged into going on summer vacation with his mom Pam (played by Collette), her new boyfriend Trent (played by Carrell) and his daughter Steph (played by Zoe Levin, who provided the voice for Peas in a Pod for the cartoon short Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation). Duncan gets talked down to by Trent and mocked by Steph and his mom just wants him to fit in. They head to a beach house near Cape Cod that Trent owns. The neighbors to the beach house include Betty (played by Janney) and her children Susanna (played by AnnaSophia Robb, best known for her roles in the films Bridge to Terabithia, Race to Witch Mountain and Soul Surfer along with the TV show The Carrie Diaries) and Peter. They also meet up with Kip (played by Rob Corddry) and Joan (played by Amanda Peet), good friends of Trent.

Duncan seems to get lost in the shuffle but is okay with that. He gets away from the beach house in a borrowed bike and heads into town. He ends up in a pizza place and meets Owen (played by Rockwell) the owner of the local water park Water Wizz (this place actually exists). Duncan ends up getting a tour of the water park and also ends up with a job at the park. Along with Owen, the other workers at the park are Caitlyn (played by Rudolph), Lewis (played by Jim Rash best known for his work on the TV show Community), and Roddy (played by Nat Faxon, who was on the TV show Ben and Kate and also was the screenwriter for The Descendents for which he won an Academy Award).

While Duncan sees his mom being mistreated by Trent (and himself mistreated and belittled by Trent), he gets confidence working with Owen and the gang at the Water Wizz. He develops a friendship with Susanna as they can relate to each other’s circumstances. So what happens with Duncan? You’ll have to watch the film to find out.

The film was written and directed by Rash and Faxon. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2013. It opened in limited release in the U.S. on July 5, 2013. It ended up grossing at the box office over $23 million dollars with only a $5 million dollar budget. It was also well received by critics as it 86% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Way Way Back is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Amazon Instant Streaming. It’s a quirky indie film that has laughs as well as a serious tone. It is one of the best films of 2013. This is one of those films that is definitely one that you may not have seen, but you should.