( CNN ) -- Maybe marriage to Kate Winslet is n't all that bad . Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski star as a couple on the road in the comedy `` Away We Go . '' After cruelly dissecting marital malaise in `` American Beauty '' and again , just six months ago , in `` Revolutionary Road , '' Winslet 's husband Sam Mendes takes a slightly more optimistic view of family life in the edgy comedy `` Away We Go . '' Not that he 's offering a whole-hearted endorsement of the institution . Burt and Verona ( John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph ) are n't legally bound -- she staunchly resists his repeated proposals -- but nevertheless they 're a couple about to go nuclear : She 's six months pregnant . He sells insurance to insurance companies . She 's an illustrator with a lucrative line in anatomical drawings . Nevertheless , they 're struggling to make ends meet . `` Are we losers ? '' wonders Verona ( only she uses a more colorful expression ) . `` We have cardboard windows ... I think we must be . '' Insomuch as they have a plan at all , it hinges on the support they 're expecting from Burt 's doting parents . So it 's a nasty wake-up call when Jerry and Gloria ( Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara ) announce they 're taking off for a new life in Belgium -- yes , even before the baby 's out . There is a silver lining : Realizing they no longer have any reason to stay , Burt and Verona decide to widen their horizons . They could move to Arizona where Verona 's sister lives . Burt has a job prospect in Madison , Wisconsin . Or they have college friends in Montreal . Their destiny awaits them , all they have to do is go out and find it . And away they go . Although the couple racks up a good few miles in their search for home , the movie does n't betray much interest in location . Arizona is hot and arid . In Montreal they pour gravy on French fries . Do n't expect cultural insights . It 's never explained how these stragglers can afford such speculative wandering , and when they do find their dream home it 's mystifying that it has n't occurred to them before . Still , the movie 's loose-limbed , spontaneous quality is a good part of its appeal , and a refreshing change of pace from other movies by Mendes , whose artfully designed compositions often seem self-conscious and painfully detached . In keeping with Indie-wood 's vogue for shuffling snide satire and sentimentality ( see `` Juno '' and `` Little Miss Sunshine '' ) , `` Away We Go '' presents its trepidatious travelers with half a dozen starkly contrasted parental figures , including Allison Janney 's monstrously vulgar alcoholic , Maggie Gyllenhaal 's radical earth-mother ( who has shortened her name to `` LN '' ) , and Paul Schneider as Burt 's rawly dumped brother , who wonders aloud if it would be wrong to tell his daughter her mom has been murdered . There 's a level of bile here that some audiences may find alienating -- I ca n't see it being a big hit in Phoenix -- but Dave Eggers ' and Vendela Vida 's writing is a cut above the average , and it 's performed with gusto . They may not be the most dynamic duo to hit the road , but the relationship between Burt and Verona feels touchingly true . Burt is a boy still trying on manhood for size ( with a beard for extra emphasis ) , and though we 've seen Krasinski do this before , he seems to have fine-tuned the performance to the point where he could very happily play it for the next two decades . Unlike his character , he 's an actor who has found himself . Maya Rudolph is the joy of this picture . Give or take her role in Altman 's `` Prairie Home Companion , '' the `` Saturday Night Live '' star has n't made much impact in movies before now . With her frazzled , freckled face , she 's not the glamour girl who would normally be shoe-horned into the romantic lead , but she seizes her chance and runs with it . Mendes brings out a more thoughtful and nuanced presence than the brittle comedienne , and Rudolph makes you consider how rarely we see a real woman at the center of things . Even her occasional tentativeness works for the part . Verona is so fresh and alert , she ca n't help but doubt herself as they trail from one family disaster to the next and wonder what kind of parents they are going to make . It 's an uneven picture about the bumps in the road , and not immune to the odd dramatic shortcut or jocular cheap shot . But it does catch an anxiety that will be acutely familiar to anyone contemplating imminent parenthood , and -- in a beautifully judged cameo by Melanie Lynskey -- the deep anguish of someone who has had that prospect snatched away . More often than not , and where it really counts , `` Away We Go '' hits home . `` Away We Go '' is rated R and runs 98 minutes . For Entertainment Weekly 's review , click here .
Sam Mendes and Rudolph star as a couple expecting a baby . Their onscreen relationship feels touchingly true . Director Maya Rudolph brings out a great performance from John Krasinski . Rudolph 's loose-limbed , spontaneous quality is a good part of its appeal .