Hey friends, just had to write a little post about the new Vendela Vida/Dave Eggers movie, Away We Go. Besides featuring the oh-so-goofy-cute John Krasinski and the awesomeawesomeawesome Maya Rudolph, you absolutely cannot miss the amazing parody of hyperconscious feminist parenting played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Everything from militant breastfeeding to "family bed" to the exoticization of women of color is packed into this parody punch that will make feministing readers laugh their asses off.
Beyond that, the movie is satisfying and truly unique. Sometimes the quirky dialogue grated on my nerves a bit, and I absolutely detested one scene involving a woman dealing with a recent miscarriage, but other than that, I thought it was great. And I'm telling you, M.G. does a freakish version of the sanctimonious feminist so well, you will pee your pants.
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Saw this yesterday. I enjoyed it a lot too although Maggie Gyllenhall's character annoyed me so much I was begging the scene to end whereas the woman who had had the misscarraiges seemed much more believable and I enjoyed her story.
I thought the movie was fantastic. I especially enjoyed the scene where John and Maya are on the trampoline discussing their daughter's future. John swears that they will raise her to be comfortable in her skin, no matter her size or whatever. I don't remember everything he said in that scene, but I was so moved by it.
I've been waiting for 3 weeks so far for this movie. Sigh. Stupid limited release. ;)
I adore Maggie Gyllenhaal. "Sherrybaby" and "Stranger Than Fiction" were great.
If it were anyone else satirizing modern-day feminism, I probably would not be on board, but Maggie's acting with Dave Eggers' writing ... ? Yes yes yes.
I didn't see it as a satire of contemporary feminism per se, but of academic liberal new-ageism which has, by default, feminist overtones.
Well, I'll have to see this movie now. My wife and I like MG and do a bit of attachment type parenting.
Kind of knee-jerk disappointed to see family bed in scare quotes here, though. Co-sleeping has been great for my wife, our daughter sleeps right next to her and can nurse on demand with very little actual waking up. It's not about being politically correct or winning points or something. It's just convenient.
I agree. I didn't realize having your kids sleep with you was an extreme thing or good fodder for a parody of feminism. My siblings and I slept in our parents bed until a certain age and I plan to do the same thing when I have children.
Two more thoughts I had: Doesn't feminism get mocked and sensationalized enough? And how does one breastfeed "militantly"?
Yes! So glad to see this review. This film is coming to my movie theatre (the indie one I work at) next week. The trailer seems ultrasuperhyper indie, which will probably get on my nerves. But this makes it better =)
I want to see this SO BAD. Why oh WHY don't I work at the movie theater anymore???
So I'll just share my love for MG, JK, and MR here.
Wow, really? I did not enjoy either that character or this movie. Now parts of Away We Go did leave me laughing hysterically, but it seems to me that this movie dichotomized women into the typical binaries of "Madonna" or "Whore." Maya Rudolph (and I thought she was amazing, but still) plays the perfect non-wife "Madonna" who is pregnant with what seems to be the Most Important Baby Ever. I am all for good, attentive parents, but let's be honest: These people are oozing with privilege and seem completely oblivious to the fact. Who is able to travel around the continent to figure out where to settle down and raise a child?
Besides Maya's character, almost every other woman (besides her sister) was reduced to a stereotype: the self-obsessed/insensitive future grandparents, the brash yokel, the vapid pseudo-intellectual. And on top of all this, breastfeeding is satirized as grotesque.
I found the overarching theme of the movie to be that the only way for a family to feel complete is as two straight people procreating. Every other lifestyle is portrayed as selfish, dangerous, and freakish.
I almost think Dave Eggers has pulled an elaborate stunt: Making the most heteronormative, conservative Generation X film to-date.
Gertel,
At last - a reply that conforms to the stereotype of the oversensitive feminist with a big vocabulary ('dichotomized', 'heteronormative', 'pseudo-intellectual').
The other posts were nearly making me change my ideas on the humourlessness of feminists. I am glad to see that I need not revise my opinions!
Sorry. I'll try to limit my comments to grunts and acronyms (LOL! OMG!) next time.
That's fine that you think I'm a humorless, oversensitive feminist, but it would be nice if you could respond beyond personal attacks and rather tackle the film. I'm curious what you think--have you seen it, in fact?
-"Gertel" (interesting Freudian slip there!)
Unless I missed something, every couple in the film was "two striaght people breeding." And most couples who are expecting a baby consider it the "Most Important Baby Ever!"
Good point, sorcha. I just felt that the film portrayed situations in which two parents weren't present as unsolvable tragedies. Maybe I was unfair in making the leap that they had to be of different genders.
I just want a society in which people think beyond more than their little family unit, but then again, it was just a movie, and it doesn't have to explore that.
I actually think it may have been something of a critique of heteronormativity. Maybe something that alluded to the challenges faced by gay couples/people to have children would have helped to solidify it, but to call it conservative is a bit of a stretch.
Verona and Burt's friends are people who seem to believe that it’s their right to breed because they are heterosexual couples. Yes, they are all some sort of caricature, but all of the grotesqueness of different kinds of privilege. And MG character was much more rooted in white privilege with feminist overtones (as a poster said before) – if she had a real understanding of feminism, she would have understood herself to be an amazing racist (re: blackface slippers and talk of Verona’s people).
There is a ton of privilege everywhere in film (maybe some scene where they find it difficult to pay for these trips would have made them more sympathetic to me), but I still couldn’t help but love it.
I'm having a hard time with this post. Are you being sarcastic, Courtney? Because that is the only way I feel like I can believe you actually wrote this.
I agree with Gertel, for the most part and especially this-
"Besides Maya's character, almost every other woman (besides her sister) was reduced to a stereotype: the self-obsessed/insensitive future grandparents, the brash yokel, the vapid pseudo-intellectual. And on top of all this, breastfeeding is satirized as grotesque."
I would add that I found the scene after their friends reveal their trouble with getting pregnant and the five (am I remembering that number right?) miscarriages she had suffered to be the only really moving scene of the whole movie. There is so little dialogue about miscarriages in the world and the obvious pain the woman was in, her inability to find any kind of words to express it and the hopelessness of her partner all rang really genuine to me in a way that Maya and John's characters did not.
I admit, the scene with John pushing the baby in the stroller was a great top to the scene with MG, but ultimately I didn't find the honest disregard for what was supposed to be their "feminist" character more annoying than pee-in-my-pants funny.
I saw MG's character as more of white liberal/progressive who thinks she is so very cultured & is absolutely blind to her own privilege than as feminist.
This is exactly how I read the character as well. I really didn't see her as a caricature as a feminist at all. As far as being privileged, the character even makes a comment about this. I forget exactly what her words were, but she said something to her partner about how the other couple couldn't afford to live like they did, and therefor be as as enlightened as they were.
I had the opportunity to see the film at a sneak-preview on Thursday with a friend and we both enjoyed it. I laughed and cried- I always love movies that can make me do both.
I agree, but I also think the feminist caricature was there as well. When they first walk into her office, they make a point to include posters on her walls with stereotypical feminist themes (rally posters/the woman sign with the fist in the middle) in the scenes during their dialouge.
The "militant" breast-feeding was also especially funny because of the media attention Maggie Gyllenhaal somewhat recently garnered from breast-feeding in public. (http://www.theinsider.com/news/213496_Maggie_Gyllenhaal_Breast_Feeding_in_Public)
Personally I thought that throughout the movie, Burt and Verona were going through a journey where they got a glimpse into the lives of all these caricatures of people who really shouldn't be parents. It was a way to show that, despite their insecurities about having a baby, they are the type of couple that is really ready for parenthood. When they get to Melanie Lynsky's scene near the end, and the husband is talking about her miscarriages, it's kind of like the end of the line for them. They finally see some good in the world and start thinking about their lives together in a different light, which leads to the scene on the trampoline, which I also really enjoyed.
I would reccomend this movie to anyone. I think Maggie Gyllenhaal stole the show and Maya Rudolph and John Krasinki's chemistry is remarkable!
I thought the movie was amusing and touching but was bothered (though not enough to interfere with my enjoyment) by the lack of explanation of how the couple, who start out in a rundown trailer, have enough money to fly all over the place, rent cars, and stay in hotels. Also, I'm rather tired of the "No matter how fucked up your situation is, have a kid anyway! All you need is love!" meme.