"Away We Go" Terrible Awful movie

[tammylsmith]

I wouldn't normally take the time to post about a movie, especially on the parting board... But that movie (which had been out on limited release in theaters and is now on demand on our cable network) has the most disgusting portrayal of attachment parenting I have ever seen. I was so insulted and I felt that it did such a disservice to a wonderful, loving parental philosophy.

The premise is that two artsy 30ish parents, pregnant with a baby girl, are looking for "family" to raise their baby near. One portion of the movie is with a couple who are proponents of ap. They are portrayed as perverse, and things like extended breastfeeding (their scene opens up with the couple walking into this mom's office... I think she's a lactation consultant or something... and she is completely topless, tandem nursing a baby and a 3 year old (who is sitting on her office desk). They go on to focus on how this mom does not like strollers, so they go for a walk, with her baby in a Moby wrap. The actress deliberately walks in a very rough way, and the way the wrap is tied and the scene shot is meant to emphasize that this is "weird". At home, the decor in their bedroom and on their enormous family bed makes bed sharing (which the woman's husband specifically says they practice) a highly sexualized thing... with them specifically saying they have sex in the bed with their kids there. The scene ends in a blow up argument, with the "normal" dad-to-be calling the "wierdos" out for being freaks. I thought it was just a horrible depiction of a lifestyle that I love and one that could have been treated so much more lovingly...even if they were trying to poke fun a little for the plot's sake. It just came of with such an icky feeling and that is such a shame!

[BroodyWoodsgal]

I really don't mind when people poke fun at AP in an intelligent way....but when people put that sexual spin on it, it drives me up. a. wall.


Ugh. Too bad. I was just talking to DH last night about the lack of really great flicks right now. We are TV free (except for occasional Hulu after kiddie bed time) and so good movies, REAL entertainment, are really special to me....it just seems like they make about a thousand times more movies than they need to...it's just an endless parade of bad acting and terrible plot lines in an effort to scrape every last dollar out of the pockets of bored, unsuspecting Americans that they can. The movie industry drives me nuts.

That movie has recevied a lot of hype...but so did No Country for Old Men, Juno, There Will Be Blood....shall I go on? I'm sick of it. (ETA: BTW, I know that most people absolutely loved the aforementioned movies and that I am some sort of freak for the fact that each of them was vomit inducing and made me want to gauge out my own eyes with a popsicle stick)

[Tizzy]

We actually just watched this movie last night after I saw a preview for it on another rental.
We loved it!
I was slightly miffed about some of the ways AP was portrayed, I was also miffed about the parenting techniques that were portrayed in Phoenix too. But the entire point was to show the extreme differences in parenting and lifestyles so they were able to choose what is actually best for THEM.
I think it made it seem okay for parents to do things their own way, and do things that work for THEM rather than everyone else.
And isn't that the whole point to life? Parenting our children in ways that work for US rather than ways that are dictated?

[hildare]

you know..

I really liked the movie, over all. I thought it was tender, and clever.
The message we got from the AP episode, though, was the judgmental attitude of that particular set of parents-- not that AP stuff was bad, but that the couple in question were very preachy about their practices & alienated everyone around them (which was hinted at by the prof's co-worker)...
Little things suggested that the intention wasn't to vilify AP (such as how happy the worn baby was) etc. but that the couple was convinced that the "correct" way was their way therefore the ONLY way to do it.. it wasn't solely about the parenting, as well-- the shoes & slippers thing by the door illustrated that point. I mean, if someone adamantly hates strollers (as do I! honestly! we don't have one/won't use one), if someone sweetly gives you one as a gift with the best of intentions, how would you react? Graciously, kindly? Explain how you feel? Honor their intentions? or, like the couple in the film, would you make them feel unworthy or naive? Belittle them?
That was kind of what I got out of it, at any rate.. believe me, there was big discussion of all that in our kitchen about it.

[oceanbaby]

I actually thought it was kind of funny. I took it to mean that they were poking fun at the super militant AP type parent - not cosleeping or AP in general, but the whole holier-than-thou-I'm-so-much-better-than-you type.

I guess I'm coming from the perspective of someone who knows that all the things they mentioned really are fantastic, so I can laugh at it in the extreme, but I would be disappointed if the general movie goer came away from it thinking that cosleeping and tandem nursing are "freakish" things. So I can see being upset with it from that point of view.

[tammylsmith]

I like hearing everyone else's take on the movie. I think it just goes to show how the color of the lenses you are viewing something through can affect the way it is perceived. From previews, I knew about the "earth mama" segment and thought it seemed funny. I like poking holes in my own hot air balloon, so to speak, and definitely try not to take myself too seriously, my beliefs included. I think my negative reaction came from the extreme sexual overtones that came from that section of the movie. I agree that the family there was meant to be more of a caricature, but it just seemed so icky to me. My dh, who tolerates bed sharing, and is supportive of ap but not overly so, commented that he worries that our more mainstream relatives think of us that way. That is the part that irked me so much, was that I am sure that there are people out there who are trying to make good parenting choices, and I don't want someone to relegate AP to the "ick" category based on what seemed like a false portrayal.

[sapphire_chan]

Thank god I ended up staying home the day I had a chance to see that. Sure, it was a toddler-friendly movie time, but I think even with yelling LOs the other adults would've been upset at me ranting at the screen.

Did they at least also have a super-preachy "kids have to be independent" parent? Or was AP the only style portrayed as attracting holier-than-thou types?

[terrordactyl]

i thought it was great. they made fun of every kind of parenting not just AP it was kinda a joke movie

[tammylsmith]

They made the AP's the only holier than thou, definitely. There was a mainstream family represented that was pretty screwed up, but they were very detached parents. There was a wonderful, caring, "artsy" metro family with adopted children portrayed in a very nice light, but the focus wasn't on their parenting choices but more on the tragedy of the mother's miscarriages. Then there was also a broken home portrayed where the mom had left the father and daughter without looking back to pick up the pieces. I felt that the last two weren't caricatures... just good people in very sad situations.

[nuwavemomma]

Originally Posted by hildare

The message we got from the AP episode, though, was the judgmental attitude of that particular set of parents-- not that AP stuff was bad, but that the couple in question were very preachy about their practices & alienated everyone around them (which was hinted at by the prof's co-worker)...

We watched this last night and I just howled. I totally loved this movie. That said, sure, it would be nice to see a good representation of AP in a movie, but the humor in those parents' self righteousness was hysterical. "Fly away Burtie, fly away, and take that s%#tty stroller with you!" (I'll admit to being a massive Dave Eggers fan, though, in the spirit of transparency).

[holyhelianthus]

I want to see this movie so bad! The AP parent parts I have seen look hilarious to me and are what attracted me to it. I mean there are really militant holier than thou AP parents like that and I know far too many. Of course people are going to notice and poke fun!

Is there a birth scene?

[Lindsay1234]

I loved it too!!! Thought the Maggie Gyllenhall scenes were hilarious!!! I like when they poke fun at APing, i WISH I could have a bed that big!! About the sex thing, our kids werent in the same bed when we dtd (had a crib for both too), but they were never more than a few feet away and woke up a lot of the time!!!

[*MamaJen*]

I couldn't stand this movie, absolutely loathed it. It was so smug and self-satisfied and self-righteous all the way through, with no genuine warmth for anyone but the two main characters. It really makes sense that it's a David Eggers script.
A.O. Scott, my favorite film reviewer, skewered it in a review. He's doesn't usually pan movies 100 percent -- usually he finds some redeeming value in the film he's writing about -- but he really called it out for being mean-spirited. My favorite line from his review was, "Does it sound as if I hate this movie? Don’t be silly. But don’t be fooled. This movie does not like you."