YMMV / The Way, Way Back

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Is Pam a Broken Bird who deserves more sympathy from her son or a weak-willed and somewhat selfish character who is intentionally oblivious about Duncan's issues? Or both at the same time?
  • Susanna as well. Steph at least tries to include her in activities, like inviting her to play quarters, etc. But Susanna always shuts her down, and Steph is visibly upset when Susanna ditches her to hang out with Duncan.
• Cliché Storm: The most common criticism the movie receives is how its plot is relatively by-the-numbers and overly familiar, but the charm of its cast, characters, and writing more than redeems it in the eyes of many viewers.
• He Really Can Act: Nobody expected to hate a character played by Steve Carell so virulently. He was just that good at playing a condescending Jerkass.
• Jerkass Woobie: Steph. She's not the nicest person by any means, but you can clearly tell that she's going through some stuff.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Chances are you saw the movie because of all the raving reviews about Sam Rockwell's heartwarming performance as Owen.
• Vanilla Protagonist: As sympathetic as Duncan is and how satisfying it is to watch him come out of his shell, it's Owen and Trent that receive the most love (or rather attention, in the case of the latter) from the audience.
• The Woobie: Duncan starts out as being moody and shy but is revealed as this when we see the full extent of Trent's emotional abuse. Confirmed when he realizes that his dad, whom he has spent the whole film pining for, didn't want to see him after the divorce.

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