The Way Way Back 2013

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: It's likely there will be many wet eyes in the theater as the screen goes to black. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: It meanders a bit, it's a little lacking in structure, but it's full of small memorable moments - and you're sad when it's over. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The Way, Way Back" is a minor pleasure rather than a major work. But minor pleasures have their place, especially in summertime, and this one goes down like a popsicle on a hot day. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "The Way, Way Back" has the charm of timelessness but also more than a touch of triteness. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The film is bursting with life-and blissful silliness ... Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: With its subtle wit, engaging story, topnotch ensemble cast and sparkling dialogue, it's this summer's Little Miss Sunshine. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Feels familiar, but in a good way, like a comfortably rumpled beach house you're happy to return to year after year. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Labors under the delusion that all filmmakers need to engineer a crowd-pleaser are a collection of tried-and-true conventions and a healthy dose of nostalgia. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A movie that feels like a greatest-hits montage of summer coming-of-age films. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Nice comedic work from Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney buoys this pleasant but routine coming-of-age drama by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Read more

Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News: The Way, Way Back features seasoned actors Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney and Amanda Peet, but they offer only support to a story that 16-year-old Canadian Liam James carries to the point of stealing. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Waterslides and infidelity just don't go together. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: As with The Descendants, Faxon and Rash ably balance the humorous and the heavy, tipping neither toward the silly nor the mawkish. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: There's something slightly formulaic and familiar about Nat Faxon and Jim Rash's coming-of-age film The Way, Way Back, but not enough to dampen its crowd-pleasing charm. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: Navigates a crowd-pleasing middle ground between the mopey introspection of Adventureland and the raucous summer antics of Meatballs. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The film has been complacently concocted for likability even as it gives you very little that's real, structured, or spontaneous enough to enjoy. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Despite the familiarity of this setup, Way Back is a charmer. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Authenticity gives the movie its witty, heartwarming, hopeful, sentimental, searing and relatable edge. It is merciless in probing the tender spots of times like these, and tough-guy sweet in patching up the wounds. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The coming-of-age tale The Way, Way Back is sweet, heartfelt and utterly trite and predictable from beginning to end. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Any movie that lifts from both "This Boy's Life" and "Meatballs" is a rarefied creation, and in this case a pretty wonderful movie. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Once again, the oppressed American teen-ager lopes and shuffles to center stage, there to display his woes. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The comedy dial does occasionally creep past 11. But the over-the-top Janney is still often hilarious, and Rockwell is a string of firecrackers. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: It's smart, funny and moving about human weakness. And it doesn't divide the world into good and bad adults - not counting that one bona-fide creep and his clueless squeeze. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Perfectly done, find-yourself-a-mentor comedies are hard to get right. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Faxon and Rash do everything right: The characters are rich and recognizable, they expertly guide their dream cast and they even make the soundtrack part of the story, with several endearing references to 80s pop. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: The sometimes airy, sometimes claustrophobic ambiance fills you with the same bittersweet feeling as spinning a half-forgotten Golden Oldie at a backyard cookout. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: A sly, richly modulated, emotionally engaging, and brutally honest film ... Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Nostalgia often tinges our memories in soft, warm colors; something like The Way Way Back reminds us of the good, the bad, and the cringe-worthy. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The Way Way Back gets it wittily, thrillingly right. It turns the familiar into something bracingly fresh and funny. It makes you laugh, then breaks your heart. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Beautifully executed, loaded with sharp observational moments, and never cheats either its characters or its audience by descending into raunchy teen-movie cliche. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: You don't see too many movies about the importance of fathers, and they're rarely done this well. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The Way, Way Back" is a nifty blend of humor, heart and drama. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Aiming for a middle path between drama and comedy, "The Way Way Back" is so overloaded with jokes that it could sink in the water hazard, but on the final scorecard, sure enough, it's in the hole. Read more

Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: [An] absolutely superb coming-of-age film. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: An unexpected yet irresistible cross between Meatballs and The Ice Storm, The Way Way Back just may be the best movie of the summer. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The film is awash in safe choices, from indie-pop-accompanied montages to sitcom one-liners and black-and-white characters. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Brimming with summer nostalgia as familiar as sunburned noses and marshmallow roasts bolstered by solid performances, The Way, Way Back is carried along nicely by a cracking good script. Read more

Leah Rozen, TheWrap: Part of what makes Way, Way Back so engaging are the terrific performances. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: This film's masterstroke is showing everything from Duncan's point of view, without the traditional cloying narration. Read more

Sam Adams, Time Out: The film at least avoids a tidy "...and that was the summer that changed my life" wrap-up, but when what comes before the end credits feels so prefab, you might as well throw in a cribbed happy ending. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: An endearingly sweet coming-of-ager. Read more

Inkoo Kang, Village Voice: The Way, Way Back is a crowd-pleasing summer treat, predictable in its sweetness but satisfying all the same. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A coming-of-age drama that manages some genuinely surprising turns despite the formulaic road it travels. Read more