This film’s masterstroke is showing everything from Duncan’s point of view, without the traditional cloying narration. A telling story is told through quick glances and snatched conversations witnessed by Duncan while the adults knock back the booze. This also marks what may be Allison Janney’s funniest performance to date: her cheerful, outspoken drunk next door is an absolute hoot.
'The Way, Way Back' is a delightful new American comedy about a summer holiday which goes both wrong and right at the same time. It stars Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell and Toni Collette and tells of Duncan (Liam James), a 14-year-old boy who heads to the coast with his mum (Collette) and her seriously unappealing new boyfriend (Carell). Once at the beach, Duncan slopes off and takes a summer job at an old-fashioned water park managed by Owen (Rockwell), a clownish man-child who awakens something new inside the young boy.
The film was written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who won an Academy Award in 2012 for their script for Alexander Payne's 2011 film 'The Descendants'. The writer-director-actors also appear in the film in small but hilarious roles.
Time Out's film editor Dave Calhoun interviewed Faxon and Rash at the Apple Store on Regent Street, London on August 14 2013. Take a look at four exclusive clips from the event below, or listen to the interview in full here.
'The Way, Way Back' opens in UK cinemas on Friday August 28.