With its emotionally rich and witty script The Way Way Back represents feel-good entertainment and its giddy, heartfelt best, headlined by an exceptional performance from Sam Rockwell.

The words "feel good" have gotten a bad rap. Horror movies can make us squirm, dramas can make us cry & comedies can make us laugh, but to "feel good" is frowned upon as a cheap, manipulative form of entertainment.

The Way Way Back is the answer to those who say that to feel good in the cinema is to be conned. A genuinely fun, moving experience, this directorial debut effort from The Descendants scribes Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is satisfying in all its facets: coming of age drama, eccentric family comedy and bittersweet exploration of teen angst in its story of awkward 14 year Duncan (a suitably cast Liam James) who is dragged by his recently divorced mother (Toni Collette) and her douche-bag boyfriend (Steve Carell) to a family vacation that one character describes as a “spring break for parents”, where the adults let down their hair to the psychologically harming horror of their children.

A strong ensemble cast deliver exceptionally fine performances, taking to Faxon and Rash’s script like the scrumptious made for thespian buffet that it is.

Collette plays the down trodden single mother with a front that hides a heartbreaking fragility; a scene stealing Alison Janney comes on strong like an over-tanned, alcohol fuelled tornado as a loud mouthed, overbearing neighbour; and Steve Carell plays wonderfully against type as a prick of a (soon to be) step-father, whose attempts at establishing authority over young Duncan are nothing more than put-downs masked in “parental discipline”. Carell has done drama before, but never a character this loathsome and he does it well.

The standout however is Sam Rockwell. He plays Owen, the wise-cracking manager of a water fun park where our young protagonist finds solace and confidence. Delivering every one of his brilliant lines with pinpoint comedic timing and using that infectious charisma of his to brilliant effect, Rockwell is not only good but career best good and is the source of those “feel good” vibes that not only entertain the audience but also bring Duncan out of his teen-angst shell and into a bright, big world of opportunity and friendship.

A film that is as life affirming as it is entertaining, Faxon and Rash have delivered quite the debut with The Way Way Back that has the potential to be a modern American classic.