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Tender, quirky and leisurely, Away We Go is a great summer date movie.

Away We Go is a small film with a big heart. Quirky, sweet and sensitive, Away We Go is a fresh alternative to the big summer film of the moment and a perfect date getaway for a warm evening. It may be too leisurely, unconventional and even low-key for the masses, but director Sam Mendes and leads Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski strike a few genuinely tender and fun chords about a couple trying to find the meaning of home and family.

Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) are a loving couple who are expecting their first child. When Burt’s self-absorbed parents (Catherine O’Hara and Jeff Daniels) unexpectedly leave the country for other plans, the two travel around the U.S. in order to find a perfect place to start their family. Along the way, their misadventures and fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends help them discover “home” on their own terms for the first time.

Poignant and unconventionally touching, Away We Go is an enjoyable, amiable road trip film about an expectant couple who encounter some wildly unexpected events in their search for a home. Director Sam Mendes, whose most recent film was the somber, ultra-serious Revolutionary Road, delivers quite a different movie with this episodic, quirky romantic comedy-road movie. It wears its peculiarities on its sleeve proudly, but then that is also its appeal and keeps it from being overly sentimental. Away We Go’s story has some flaws: the leisurely and episodic quality sometimes gives it a choppy, uneven feel and some plot points, particularly in its final act, aren’t quite fleshed out, not to mention the road-trip aspect is overly familiar.

Away We Go’s pleasant tone and sensitive performances from the leads highlight the film. Krasinski, better known as Jim on TV’s The Office, and Saturday Night Live comedienne Rudolph make for an interesting pair. Playing polar opposites, initially they don’t seem to go together, with the unkempt Krasinski looking both scruffy and nerdy in beard and rimmed glasses, while Rudolph playing the more sensible and balanced of the two. But their warm chemistry grows on you after each episode and provides some comical moments, particularly when Burt “tests” the heartbeat of the baby. Their final, poignant scene together at their new home will leave you warm and misty-eyed.

The initial episodes of Away We Go are by far the more entertaining and some gifted actors add to the movie’s comic sensibilities. Daniels and especially O’Hara are a treat, though Allison Janney (of The West Wing) is altogether a hoot as Verona’s former boss, a brassy broad who’ll speak her mind without hesitation, regardless of who’s around. The role is small enough to make a big impression yet isn’t overly annoying. The next stop we’re greeted to an extremely flaky, weird friend of Burt’s named LN (Batman Begins’ Maggie Gyllenhaal), whose ideas on parenting are as peculiar as the spelling of her name.

The final act of Away We Go is its most tender and sweet, with Burt and Verona finally discovering their home, each other and where they want to build a family, which was really right under their noses the whole time. But their journey has taught them to remain committed and that regardless of the location of their home, the most important part is them (a metaphor explained vividly with pancakes and syrup).

Rudolph (who is also the daughter of ‘70s soul singer Minnie Riperton) is a lovely, underrated actress, though her character is the more underwritten of the leads (and frustrating why she won’t marry Burt), and Away We Go unfortunately ends just as we’re getting to know her. It’s also refreshing to see TV actor Krasinski finally going the independent film route, where he could hone his likable acting talents than with the mediocre, mainstream choices he’s made so far.

Away We Go isn’t a perfect film - it could’ve expounded on more backstory to give us insight into the main characters journey - but it’s still a poignant and engaging film that deserves appreciation.

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