That Delicious Slice of Life · 8:32am Nov 4th, 2013
So, I doing something odd and giving a movie review... thing.
SO! Let's talk about this wonderful little gem I snatched called 'The Way Way Back'
Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
Now, this little guy popped up on our shelves completely under the radar. On a whim, I decided to check it out, and I was more than pleased with what I found.
Anyone who has read most of my one-shots knows that I tend to write more Slice-of-Life stuff. After all of the action movies and thrillers I've exposed myself to, I decided that maybe this would be a good sort of wind-down film. Something where I could tone down my journey scope from 'Epic Quest' to 'Personal Growth.'
It's a rather predictable fare in ways, but that is not a bad thing. Duncan can come off as whiny, but I find this rather endearing in ways. Now, I could be like most and say that I connect with this shy and timid introvert, but I am pleased to say that I'm just not that way, I feel. I was once, yes, but not anymore. And in many ways, that's what made his growth all the more cathartic.
I've always been a very... disconnected person, I guess. I always turned the spotlight away from me, not because I didn't want it, but because I wanted others to have the chance. It took me a number of years to come out of my shell, and there honestly is no better feeling.
But to actually see Duncan not only emerge from within (albeit slightly), but to be accepted, is something that rings a certain bell of powerful empathetic joy and pride in me.
It is a very slow-paced film, which makes it all the more heartwarming. There's something just so natural about the whole experience that really makes it shine through, makes it feel like we're right at home in our little journey of self-discovery. It's this kind of writing that helps me see that even if we happen to defeat Kal'rex, Master of The Dark Arts and save the world or something, that kind of adventure isn't all there is to it. Something about Slice of Life really helps us understand that something as mundane and (dare I say) simple as a summer vacation, can be even more fulfilling than any sort of epic quest. It's that kind of mentality that really helps me write some of the stuff I do, and I hope that I can continue to provide the same, mellow and gentle warmth that a story like this can create.
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Slice-of-life is always an awesome genre for me. And I quote from Greg Heffley's grandpa, "Those are just a bunch of fakers, this is real life... ya can't beat it."