Away We Go is a 2009 American comedy-drama directed by Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The film's two leads are John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. It is Mendes's first film without Thomas Newman's collaboration. Plot Verona De Tessant and Burt Farlander, are in their early thirties in the Denver area and struggling to meet daily needs and build fulfilling lives. Learning they will soon become parents, they are confronted with the challenge of how – and where – to raise a child and build a happy family. Six months into Verona's pregnancy, they visit their only family in the area, Burt's parents, Gloria and Jerry, only to find they are moving to Antwerp, Belgium, a month before the baby is due. They will be gone for two years and they have already rented their place to another couple, despite Burt's and Verona's situation. Frustrated with his parents' selfishness and careless attitude, Burt and Verona decide this is an opportunity to find somewhere else to raise their family, as they both can work from home and live wherever they choose. They first visit Phoenix, Arizona, to see Verona's old boss Lily, her husband Lowell, and their two children. Burt in particular is disturbed by the couple's crass and mean-spirited behavior toward one another and their children. Burt and Verona next visit Verona's sister Grace, in Tucson. Verona urges Burt to try to persuade Grace to stay with her boring boyfriend. When Burt takes a call and displays his trademark humor, Grace tells Verona that she is lucky to have him and Verona agrees. They next visit Burt's childhood friend and pseudo-cousin in Madison, Wisconsin, "LN" (pronounced "ellen"), a college professor at the University of Wisconsin with inherited money and radical views about parenting. They bring a stroller as a gift, greatly angering LN as she and her husband Roderick's is a "continuum home." Roderick's condescension and LN's backhanded compliments to Verona get to be too much for Burt, so he tells them they are horrible people. He and Verona leave but not before taking their son on a wild stroller ride through the house (which he enjoys). Burt and Verona then visit old college friends in Montreal, Tom and his wife, Munch Garnett, and their diverse family of adopted children. Verona and Burt are happy to have found a loving family and a nice town, deciding