It's bad enough that he is relegated to the way, way back seat of his mother's boyfriend's "classic" Buick station wagon -- if there indeed is such a thing. You know the place: the rear-facing seat that makes it impossible for anyone to look cool, much less if that person is a 14-year-old boy. But for Duncan, that's just the beginning of his troubles.
The Way, Way Back
Duncan and his teenage woes are the center of the coming-of-age dramatic comedy, "The Way, Way Back," and while it all might sound like well-covered ground -- you know: hopelessly awkward kid struggles to transition from boyhood to manhood -- it makes for a compelling and surprisingly sweet ride. Along the way, what easily could have become a total thematic retread ends up being a refreshingly warm release that doubles as an antidote to the traditional monsters-vs.-robots summertime fare.
Viewers of the USA Network series "Psych" might recognize him as Young Shawn in that show's regular flashback segments, but this is James' first real chance to seize a leading role, and he acquits himself nicely. Telegraphing teenage angst and awkwardness with his every move -- and even when he's not moving or saying anything -- his Duncan is believable and, more importantly, entirely sympathetic.
Along the way, Carell also showcases his generosity as an actor. Playing a despicable, self-absorbed jerk, he is entirely unlikeable. But his job here isn't to be liked. It's to bully Duncan emotionally and to stand back as the rest of the cast get all the funny lines.
Within minutes of their arrival Pam is drinking, dancing, doing a little furtive weed and trying not to notice that her betrothed comes on awfully pally with a comely neighbor. (And by the way, will someone please give the talented Amanda Peet a role as something other than a man-eating minx?)
In one scene, Duncan, after pedaling his bike down South Avenue in Onset, has lunch at Marc Anthony's Pizzeria. He meets the person who will become his future boss, Owen, who is playing the Pac-Man arcade game at the pizza joint. When coworkers tell Owen they have to get back to work, Owen slams the rest of his slice of pizza and plate into a garbage can.
When Duncan plops himself down on a picnic table at Water Wizz, only to be told, sarcastically, that he is "having too much fun," look in the background. You can see Sandra Kunze Sarkisian, now age 18, who worked as an extra in the movie during the summer before her senior year at Wareham High School.
In keeping with my recent theme about the importance of becoming a financial historian and learning to think about the cyclical nature of the markets, I thought it would be interesting to go way back to view the different long-term environments investors have had to deal with in past decades.
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