AWAY WE GO
In theatres on June 5 (NY/LA)
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal,Josh Hamilton, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Catherine O’Hara and Paul Schneider
Exploring the comedic twists and emotional turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America , “Away We Go” is the new movie from Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes, from the first original screenplay by novelists Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida, and featuring music by singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch. Longtime (and now thirtysomething) couple Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are going to have a baby. The pregnancy progresses smoothly, but six months in, the pair is put off and put out by the cavalierly delivered news from Burt’s parents Jerry and Gloria (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara) that the eccentric elder Farlanders are moving out of Colorado – thereby eliminating the expectant couple’s main reason for living there. So, where, and among whom of those closest to them, might Burt and Verona best put down roots to raise their impending bundle of joy? The couple embarks upon an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family, and to evaluate cities. The first stop on the grand tour is Phoenix, where the duo spends a day at the (dog) races with Verona’s irrepressible (and frequently inappropriate) former colleague Lily (Allison Janney) and her repressible family, including husband Lowell (Jim Gaffigan); then it’s Tucson, and a visit to the lovely Grace (Carmen Ejogo), Verona’s sister. An intimate conversation with her sister, who is her lone living relative, gives Verona a refreshed perspective – which she will sorely need in Wisconsin , where Burt’s childhood “cousin” Ellen, now known as LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and her partner Roderick (Josh Hamilton) have Burt and Verona over to their home. After LN and Roderick elaborate on their intractable ideas for raising children and running a household, Burt and Verona bolt for Montreal and a warmer welcome from their former college classmates Tom (Chris Messina) and Munch (Melanie Lynskey). Even though the latter’s house is full of children, comfort and joy, a night out for the four old friends provides a bracing reminder of how much it takes to sustain a relationship and a family. When an emergency phone call forces Burt and Verona into an unanticipated Miami detour to visit Burt’s brother Courtney (Paul Schneider), they realize that they must define home on their own terms.
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TAKING WOODSTOCK
In theatres on August 14, Select Cities
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Demetri Martin, Dan Fogler, Henry Goodman, Jonathan Groff, Eugene Levy, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch and Liev Schreiber
“Taking Woodstock ” is the new film from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee – and it’s a trip! A 1969-set story, based on Elliot Tiber’s memoir, about a man, Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin of the hit cable series “Important Things with Demetri Martin”), who inadvertently played a role in making the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the famed happening it was. Working as an interior designer in Greenwich Village during culturally and politically exciting times, Mr. Tiber felt empowered by the gay rights movement. But he was also still staked to the family business – a Catskills motel. Upon hearing that a planned concert had lost its permit from the neighboring town of Wallkill, NY, Mr. Tiber called producer Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff) at Woodstock Ventures to offer his family’s motel, the El Monaco, to the promoters. Soon the Woodstock staff was moving into the El Monaco; half a million people were on their way to Mr. Tiber’s neighbor’s Max Yasgur’s (Eugene Levy) farm in White Lake, NY; and Mr. Tiber found himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and American culture, forever.
