We've seen it before: boy returns to stifling mid-west town and tries to escape, but this has real heart and Affleck's character is unusual: a reformed jock. The direction is intimate, with some great use of sound to portray emotion. A little gem.

Going All the Way is a good coming-of-age film, largely because its main characters are all old enough to be involved in the plot points that these types of films often feature. It doesn't do much fresh or original, but it does have a likable cast. The characters are all stereotypes, though, and I would have preferred for it to be funnier than it was, but it's still not a terrible watch and I had a good enough time.