There’s a lot to like about THE WAY WAY BACK. That may sound like a broad, yet slightly reserved recommendation, and indeed it is; there’s some very good performances, the heartfelt story rings true and despite being largely a family drama it’s one of the funniest films of the year. But there’s also a distinct lack of surprise underneath that likeable surface. It is nothing if not predictable: if you’ve seen the trailer, then you essentially know the major plot points as well as the final outcome. Thankfully, the journey is still a pleasurable one – just don’t expect to be blindsided by any sort of plot twist, or even gentle kink.

Writer-directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who shared the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay with Alexander Payne in 2012 for THE DESCENDANTS, return with another dysfunctional and fragmented family here. Duncan (a spot on Liam James) is a painfully withdrawn 14 year old boy forced to go on a beach holiday with his mother (Toni Collette), her new alpha male boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell, in low-key mode), and his daughter Steph (Zoe Levin). Yearning to be with his absent natural father, Duncan tries to be as invisible as possible, stumbling through awkward conversations with cute next-door-neighbour Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and riding around town on a girl’s bike salvaged from the garage. He bumps into Owen (Sam Rockwell), the carefree boss of a local rundown water park, who, realising the kid has no friends, offers Duncan a temporary job helping out around the attraction.

…it’s the friendship and trust that slowly grows between Duncan and Owen that proves to be the film’s cornerstone…

The job, of course, allows Duncan the space and freedom to grow into himself, and it’s a heartwarming thing to see. If you’ve ever been that shy kid who found it hard making friends, then Duncan’s story will feel only too real. His situation is worsened by the behaviour of the adults around him: his mother is having too much fun to pay any attention to him, while Trent struggles to hide his contempt. The holiday allows the adults to regress into adolescence by getting stoned and bumming around the beach. The real kids are left to fend for themselves, tutting at their elders’ behaviour while wrestling with their own issues.

Oddly, it’s not the suggestion of a summer romance between Duncan and Susanna that drives the plot, though it does add a note of hope. Instead it’s the friendship and trust that slowly grows between Duncan and Owen that proves to be the film’s cornerstone, due in large part to the superb Rockwell, who steals the film from under the noses of everyone else. His charismatic turn as the eternally youthful, Peter Pan-esque owner of the water park – whose employees appear to consist entirely of lazy jocks or disappointed dreamers, doomed to remain in an eternal summer vacation – is a singular joy. If only there were more Owens to help out the Duncans of this world. It’s his infectious goodwill, together with the rest of the cast, that allows the film to overcome the story’s banality and make it something to savour.

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