L.A. Film Festival closes with premiere of ‘The Way, Way Back’

The comedy “The Way, Way Back,” which closed the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday, is a coming-of-age story based on events that really happened in the life of the film’s co-writer and co-director, Jim Rash.

The film, which played before a packed house at the Regal Cinemas at LA Live, centers on Duncan (Liam James), an awkward teenage boy dealing with his parents’ divorce while his mother Pam (Toni Collette) starts a new relationship with Trent (Steve Carell). While on a summer get-away at Trent’s beach house, Duncan finds a group of friends and a better understanding of himself at the nearby “Water Wizz” water park.

In an interview before the screening, Rash said the idea for the script stemmed from a scene in his life. As a young man his stepfather asked him how he would rank himself on a scale of one to 10. Just as it plays out in the first scene, Rash rated himself a six while his stepfather rated him a three.

PHOTOS: Los Angeles Film Festival 2013

“That actually happened to me,” Rash said. “That verbatim scene was the launch of where we went from there.”

Fellow screenwriter and director Nat Faxon joked that Rash’s life provided ample material for awkward scenes to include in the film.

“I just pulled from Jim’s experience, because he had a laundry list of stories to pull,” Faxon said.

Collette said she enjoyed acting in the somewhat uncomfortable scenes and said she could relate to some of the situations her character, Pam, and her son Duncan went through.

“I’m awkward now,” Collette said. “Everyone goes through phases like that.”

CHEAT SHEET: Los Angeles Film Festival

Allison Janney, who plays the slightly crazy neighbor, said her character’s awkwardness in the film came second nature to her.

“I’m 6 feet tall, I was awkward all along,” Janney said. “I didn’t have my first kiss until I was about 17 or 18 years old. I was just always so much taller than every boy in my class.”

James, the self-proclaimed “loser teenager” in the film, said he loved being together with the cast on the set, even though his character may not have felt the same way.

“I thought it was almost a little bit hilarious that I was with some of the funniest people on earth and I’m having to play this downer the whole time,” James said.

“The Way, Way Back” premieres in theaters on Friday, July 5.

ALSO:

Los Angeles Film Festival rewards curiosity

L.A. Film Festival: ‘The Conjuring’ conjures laughs, few screams

L.A. Film Fest: ‘Mother, I Love You’ and ‘Code Black’ win top prizes

Twitter: @dfergasaurus

dana.ferguson@latimes.com