My Sunday Night with John Krasinski & Maya Rudolph – Boston Screening of “Away We Go”

Sometimes my life doesn’t suck.  Last night I attended the Boston premiere of “Away We Go“, the new indie romantic-comedy directed by Sam Mendes and starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. And as luck would have it, the stars of the movie made a surprise appearance, along with writer Dave Eggers. Not a bad Sunday night.

Let me start out by saying the movie was fantastic. John and Maya, as Burt and Verona, take the audience on a beautiful adventure as they try to find a place to call home for them and their baby on the way. The movie is gorgeous and poignant, with a lot of laughter and joy. Krasinski and Rudolph both give amazing performances. Maya, who I hadn’t seen much of outside of SNL, was so ethereal and breath taking that she captured my attention and never let go. Not an easy task given my affection for her co-star.  As for Mr. Krasinski, well, this is the type of movie he should be doing.  I think he is a gifted actor who will be around for quite some time, but as we know he’s had a somewhat rocky transition to the big screen.  Give the right role he really has so much to offer.  With the risk of sounding condescending, I was so proud of him.

I’m not much of a movie critic and I don’t want to pretend to be, but I will say that personally I adored the movie and I’ll definitely be seeing it again in the theaters once it premieres on June 12th. I hope you’ll check it out too.

After the film, Rudolph, Krasinski and Eggers took the stage for a Q&A. Had I known this was happening I would have been better prepared.  No recorder or notebook at my disposal. And I’m sorry but when my favorite TV actor is sitting 10 feet away from me I can’t be relied upon to remember much of anything that was said.  Although I do recall being given the opportunity to ask the first question of the night.  I asked about Maya’s transition from SNL to this more subtle role.  And as a side I jokingly asked John if this role helped him to be more prepared for his role as expectant father on THE OFFICE.  John at first misinterpreted my question and thought I was asking if he was going to be an expectant father.  He said no but solicited volunteers from the audience (twice none the less).  One should not joke about such things in my presence.  I was about to jump on that stage.  Kidding of course…kind of.

[Here are a few pics & a super short video from last night. The theater was dark & the video on my camera wasn’t working.  Told you I wasn’t prepared.]

Another funny moment from the Q&A was when the moderator asked John about having his parents in the audience during the sexually infused opening scene. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone blush so quickly in my life. I didn’t blame him though.  Having walked into the theater with his mother, father and brother (who John looks so much alike) and knowing they were just a few rows behind me watching their son on the screen was rather awkward – and these aren’t even my parents. Without being graphic, let’s just say that despite the sexual nature, you don’t see much of John in the scene at all.  And it’s nothing we’re ever going to see on THE OFFICE.

After the Q&A, John and his friends and family were outside the theater.  It was at that time I was able to snag a pic and talk with John for a little while.  As with every other time I’ve been able to speak to him, he’s but nothing but sweet and kind.  Just an all around nice guy. He was kind enough to remember me and we talked about the last time we saw each other in NYC.  He was so sweet in once again thanking GiveMeMyRemote.com for our support of the show.  John offered up some of his time to work on a little something for GMMR before the next season of THE OFFICE begins. I’m going to wait to say more until a little later, but honestly, could the guy be any nicer?!

What a great way to spend the night.  My friends and I saw a great movie, and then got to meet one of my favorite celebs. Not too shabby if you ask me.

Yeah, my life doesn’t suck.

Last night’s “Away We Go” screening, as well as many of the other advanced screenings of this film, benefited 826 – a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.  Please visit 826 Boston for more information on how you can help.

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