Teen Joe (Robinson) can't bear to be around his father Frank (Offerman), who takes out his grief over his wife's death on anyone at hand. To escape, Joe's sister (Brie) moves in with her goofy boyfriend (Cordero), and as school lets out for the summer, Joe decides to build a house in the woods. His best pal Patrick (Basso) is so stressed by his inane parents (Mullally and Jackson) that he's broken out in hives, so he decides to go along. As does Biaggio (Arias), a kid no one quite knows what to do with.

Yes, Biaggio adds a bit of Napoleon Dynamite nuttiness to what's otherwise a relatively honest exploration of excruciating adolescence. We can certainly identify with both Joe and Patrick as their parents relentlessly say all the wrong things. And even if the cabin they build is the stuff of teen boy fantasies, it comes from that identifiable youthful desire for independence and ownership. And it's played to perfection by Robinson and Basso, who add small character quirks that bring Joe and Patrick to vivid life even in the face of a shamelessly scene-stealing cast.

And the film is full of those, with Offerman walking off with most scenes through his deadpan delivery and little-boy insecurities. Mullally and Jackson deliver their smartly ridiculous dialog with straight-faced glee. And smaller roles draw huge laughs along the way. There's also a surprisingly strong female lead in Kelly (Moriarty), the woman Joe fantasises about even though she has eyes for other boys.

Director Vogt-Roberts skilfully balances all of these disparate elements: youthful comedy, darker drama, torturous romance, wacky farce. The film looks terrific, making the most of the wooded landscapes while adding some even more lushly shot dream sequences that give us a glimpse of the characters' inner hopes and fears. It's the kind of film that's so easy to identify with that it continually catches us by surprise. And between those revelatory moments, it keeps us laughing.

themes, language, violence

22.Apr.13 slf