The Way Way Back (2013)

Duncan starts the summer sitting in the back of a station wagon being told he’s a three out of ten. Brutal. Then he finds Water Wizz. Suddenly the miserable vacation has an escape hatch, Owen becomes the adult he actually needs, and the kid trying to disappear starts becoming someone people notice. That transformation is why The Way Way Back punches above its recognition level in this league. Against Adventureland, it’s another summer job that accidentally becomes the place you belong. Against Dirty Dancing, the resort setting is less romantic and way more awkward—but both are about leaving vacation as a different person. And when Duncan has to climb back into that station wagon, you feel exactly why summer endings sting. Is this the sleeper that knocks out the classics?