Film Rating: A

My favorite kind of movie is a film that effectively mixes comedy and drama, one that can make you laugh while also remaining poignant and touching. When a movie manages to pull this off, it makes me an immensely satisfied moviegoer because it can be enjoyed on so many levels. My favorite movie of 2007, The Darjeeling Limited, was like this (as are all of Wes Anderson's films), and so are all of the Pixar movies, including the recent Up. The sub-genre I'm talking about is often referred to as a 'dramedy,' but I hate that word; first off, it sounds stupid, but more importantly, it makes no sense to try and use one made-up word to define films that transcend genre. A movie that successfully blends humor, drama, emotion, and everything else together is a true reflection of life itself, and we don't try to sum up the life experience in one word.

Sam Mendes' Away We Go is my favorite kind of film, the kind of movie I've spent the last paragraph describing. It's one of the funniest movies I've seen all year, but it's also one of the sweetest, sincere, poignant, and above all touching movies I've ever seen. You could slap the label 'dramedy' on it if you so desire, but like many of my favorite films, that would be oversimplifying things.

If you haven't heard of Away We Go, that's not surprising. This is an under-the-radar Indie that has been kept pretty low-profile, an interesting strategy that gets people into the theater not knowing what to expect. I like that; I like that only one relatively short trailer was available. Going into a movie clean makes the experience more powerful. Anyway, the story centers around Burt (John Krasinski from The Office) and Verona, (Maya Rudolph, an SNL alumni) a couple in their early thirties expecting a child. When Burt's parents announce that they are going to Belgium before the baby arrive, the couple realize that they have no ties left to the place they live, and decide to go on a journey to find a best place to raise their kid and start a new life. They visit many places where they have friends and family, learning more about life and parenting with each visit.

Away We Go is a movie where every element of the production is top-notch and blended together perfectly, and that starts with the excellent screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The script's characterization is amazing, and seamlessly transitions from clever, sometimes subtle humor to touching scenes between the leads.

Still, this is the kind of screenplay that would turn into an awful film if the right cast wasn't attached; thankfully, the talented ensemble pull it off wonderfully. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph turn in the two best performances I've seen all year, working well individually while also having amazing chemistry. Krasinski's work on The Office has always told me he's an excellent comedian with a talent for playing a real, down-to-earth guy, and those qualities are here in spades. But he also taps into a deeper, dramatic level of acting then we've seen before. He makes for a terrific leading man that everyone in the audience can connect with and root for, and I predict a long, successful film career once The Office has ended. Rudolph matches him at every turn, wonderfully bringing to life a character who is truly at a crossroads in her life; she can be funny, but most of the time she is the film's emotional anchor and heart. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Apart from those two, no other actor gets that much screen-time because of the road trip aspect of the film, but there's a great supporting cast member at every turn in the movie. Early on, Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels steal their few minutes as Burt's parents in a memorable scene. Allison Janney is over-the-top hilarious as an irresponsible parent in Texas, and Maggie Gyllenhaal nearly steals the whole movie with her performance as "LN," a parentally insane childhood friend of Burt's.

Director Sam Mendes ( American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) ties everything together beautifully-this is a very well directed movie, utilizing simple, no-frills camera work in creative ways. Mendes frames his shots and sets up the action in such a way that the camera essentially becomes the eyes of the viewer, putting you into the story in a simple, yet powerful way and allowing you to get sucked in by the performances. It's extremely well done.

One of the best creative choices is the music-instead of a traditional score, musician Alexi Murdoch provides a number of songs that give the movie a very distinct flavor, and ties all of the different adventures together. A similar musical style was employed in the 2007 film Juno, but instead of sounding like a score of pop songs, the music in Away We Go really sounds like the feelings of the characters (and the audience) translated into sound.

In the end, this is a movie you can't afford to miss. Movies have become darker and darker over the last few years, but Away We Go is just a simple, touching tale of a wholly functional, loving couple. There is no question, at any point in the movie, as to how much Burt and Verona love each other; that's not the struggle, and that's what is so refreshing about the entire movie. It's one of my favorite films of the year so far, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Away We Go is currently playing at the Landmark Mayan theater in Denver; plans to expand the film are unknown at the time of this writing, but the Mayan is one of the most magical theaters in town, and if you haven't seen a film there lately, make it this one.