"Away We Go" is an off-beat comedy-drama that has a hard time finding a consistency of tone. It swings from broad social satire to tender love story.

But its two leads give it a lot of heartfelt appeal and director Sam Mendes wrings humor out of the movie even when the supporting actors descend into caricature. Mendes ("American Beauty," "Revolutionary Road") can do dysfunctional families and he has some doozies to work with here.

John Krasinski of "The Office" plays Burt. Maya Rudolph of "Saturday Night Live" plays Verona, the girlfriend who refuses to marry him.

Nevertheless, they're both devoted to each other and Verona becomes pregnant. Burt and Verona work out of their decrepit Colorado home and Verona questions their claim to adulthood. She worries that they have a talent for messing things up, though making a living without going into the office every day doesn't sound all that bad.

The two visit Burt's parents, a totally self-absorbed couple played by Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels and learn that the grandparents-to-be are moving to Belgium on the eve of the baby's birth. Burt and Verona -- for reasons that aren't all that clear but give the movie its structural formula -- decide to find a new home and strike out on a road trip to visit friends and relatives.

Their first stop is Phoenix, where Verona's former boss lives. Lily (Allison Janney) is a horrible mother with a drinking problem and a big mouth. Her husband (Jim Gaffigan) is an unhappy environmental pessimist who ignores his kids. This outfit is a case for social services.

The next stop provides the broadest set-up and it's the funniest despite its cut-out caricatures. LN (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is Burt's childhood friend. Now she's a professor with a new-age outlook. She still breastfeeds her walking and talking children and she thinks strollers are the devil's own device because they separate mothers from their children.

Then there are the poignant stops along the way. Verona's sister Grace (Carmen Ejogo) reminds her of the loving parents they lost when they were young. Old college pals in Montreal have a brood of adopted children and seem to be happy though in reality a sadness runs through the marriage. In Miami, Burt's brother and niece have suddenly been deserted by the mom of the family.

Writers David Eggers and Vendela Vida find unfailing truth in the old saying "home is where the heart is." And Krasinski and Rudolph give their movie relationship a whole lot of loving, playful and instinctive heart.

The yellow brick road they take in search of the perfect place and the perfect parenting skills leads them back to their unconventional but decent selves.

As Dorothy says in "The Wizard of Oz": There's no place like home.