'Away We Go' Taps Parents' Paranoia

Full disclosure: I went into Sam Mendes' new film Away We Go with low expectations. After having been burned by my sky-high expectations for the period film Revolutionary Road, which starred Mendes' Oscar winning wife Kate Winslet, I girded myself for a sanctimonious head-scratcher that would leave me feeling disappointed.

I'm happy to report that I was thoroughly charmed by Away We Go.

The film had its heart in just the right place. Though I did not buy John Krasinksi (of The Office) as a guy who successfully sells insurance to insurance companies while walking around looking like an unmade bed with a mop of untidy hair, huge beard and rumpled outfits, I found the relationship between Krasinski's Burt and Maya Rudolph's (SNL) Verona as pitch perfect. They portray an unmarried thirtysomething couple in search of the right community in which to raise their unborn daughter, though the film winds up being more about finding the right mindset in which to start a family.

My Pop Culture & Politics column this week discusses Burt & Verona's attempt to figure out if there's a way they, or anyone for that matter, can raise a kid together without screwing her up.

Amid Economic Scandals and a Downer Dow, Bring on the Funny TV Gals

I don't know about you, but -- Lost and 24 aside -- I've really been in the mood for some comedic TV fare lately. With news outlets overflowing with stories about AIG bonus rage, back-tax-owing-federal-bailout-recipients and pass-the-buck-finger-pointing coming from the Obama administration and lawmakers, I certainly need to laugh at something other than 401K statements.

That's why I devoted this week's Pop Culture and Politics column on Mommy Track'd to TV's female comedians who are really delivering the funny these days. With the April issue of Marie Claire making the bold declaration that "funny women are having a moment," the timing couldn't be better.

Among the women I highlighted was 30 Rock's Tina Fey, whose kooky Liz Lemon's odd behavior consistently makes me smile . . . speaking of Lemon, tonight's new 30 Rock features the last installment of the Jon Hamm as Dr. Drew Baird story arc.

Random fact I learned after watching an excerpt of Fey's appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: That fabulous line, "I want to go to there" that Liz Lemon directed toward Jon Hamm's character was the genius of Fey's 3-year-old daughter Alice, uttered while Alice was looking at the Disney World web site.

Image credit: Jessica Miglio/NBC via TV Guide.

Coraline & Work-from-Home Parents

Took my twin 10-year-olds to see the dark, animated film Coraline recently, and was thrilled to learn that my kids took a good message away from it: You should be grateful for what you've got, parent-wise. (At least they SAID that's what they took away from it. They could've been playin' me, who knows?)

The movie features an 11-year-old girl, Coraline Jones, who's frustrated that her work-from-home writer parents don't make her the center of their universe and are too busy working all the time. When Coraline's given the opportunity to visit an alternative world, where her mom and dad appear to be the perfect parents who dote on her and serve all manner of goodness her way, she learns that there's a sinister side to getting everything you think you desire.

I wrote about the film, and my fourth graders' reactions to it, in my recent Pop Culture & Politics column.

Have you seen Coraline? What'd you think?