After living in a (relatively) small town in a (significantly) conservative state, I’ve learned that if I’m going to see an independent film in theaters, I have to go immediately.  Films like The Reader and Revolutionary Road showed for about two weeks, and Milk was never shown under the pretenses of Slumdog Millionaire being such a hit (nothing to do with the gay-rights theme of Milk, of course).  So when I drove by the little arts theater and saw that Away We Go was playing, my plans for dinner suddenly became popcorn and a soda.

Written by married team Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers, Away We Go skillfully weaves strings of eccentricity and intelligence into the tapestry without coming across as pretentious.  The film centers around unmarried thirty-something couple Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (Jon Krasinski) who are hoping to find their place in the world before their daughter is born.  Their journey takes them across the country, visiting friends and family and providing snapshots of multiple types of family.  One couple seems to barely notice their children exist, another raises their children with a new-age openness.  A seemingly happy family struggles with the pain of multiple miscarriages, and a newly single father tries to understand how to give his daughter the life he dreamed of for her.  Verona and Burt drift from family to family, sampling the different styles and building an idea of what they want for their own future.

Is the film feminist?  Well, from the opening scene featuring determined (albeit slightly awkward) cunnilingus, I have to admit I was leaning towards “yes.”  After all, films featuring sex for a woman’s pleasure (without the eventual consequence of being labeled “slut” or dismembered or something) are relatively rare.  Furthermore, the main characters are an interracial, unmarried, low income couple who never seem to be discriminated against for these factors.  There is a noticable lack of perfection in the film – no hollywood glamour, no Stepford wives, and no fantasy.  The simple fact that the film presents women (and men) as they are with a notable lack of criticism made this movie feel like a breath of fresh air.

Whether its message is inherently feminist or not, Away We Go is a feminist-friendly film and a welcome change from mainstream features about what a family should or should not be.