Drew Barrymore and Justin Long star in the newly released romantic dramedy, “Going the Distance,” which chronicles the ups and downs of a long distance relationship. Supported by a cast including Christina Applegate, Jim Gaffigan, and Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, “Going the Distance” proves, for the most part, to be pleasantly surprising.
The film makes no apologies for the thirty-year-old characters, which are just as committed to their jobs as to their relationship. Drew Barrymore is Erin, who works one summer in New York City as a summer intern at a newspaper. Her life is slightly off track, due to her past decision to halt her professional life and follow her boyfriend across country. Erin wants to be able to work at the city’s newspaper, but is struggling to find a job in a world where people are getting laid off by the thousands. Justin Long is Garrett, who works at a record label company signing up and coming artists. He is the type of guy who is afraid of commitment, and it is established well in the first scene with a cameo from Leighton Meester.
The thirty-somethings meet at a bar, and soon Garrett takes Erin home for a drunken one night stand. After they have breakfast in the morning, they realize they have a real connection and would like to see each other again. They agree to keep their fling on a six week timeline until Erin is forced to move back to San Francisco where she lives, but before Erin’s plane leaves, Garrett has a change of heart, and they both decide that their six week summer fling has turned into much more.
What’s so surprising about this film is the sense of realism. The arguments the couples have are realistic. They both make logical, well thought-out decisions, instead of the idealistic big romantic gestures usually seen in other romantic comedies. Should Erin move across the country to New York to wait tables, but be with Garrett? Or should Garrett find some sort of work in San Francisco to be with Erin? These are the decisions faced by the character with a fresh amount of maturity unseen in other romantic comedies. This if the film’s largest strength.
On the other hand, the film can be clunky at times. The comedy aspect of this film is handed down to the supporting cast, and the pressure is mostly forced on Christina Applegate, who was good, but not great. Jim Gaffigan, as Applegate’s character’s dopey husband, does not really bring much to the table. Garrett’s best friends provide a little bit of idiocy to milk some laughs. One exception is one particular scene with the couple having a late night, drunken romp on a dining room table.
Nanette Burstein is a documentary film-maker for the most part, and it shows. A couple of oddly filmed scenes stick out like a sore thumb—particularly when the couple is dining in New York City, the scene is shot with a handheld camera. Superimposed images, like showing the couples texts back and forth and a map of the United States, proves to be distracting unwanted, and juvenile.
Justin Long shows a new sense of maturity in this film, the likes of which are not seen in his previous supporting roles. One senses that Long is definitely ready to helm first billing in a film. Drew Barrymore looks as old as ever and acts the same way in every film. Her characters are always indistinguishable from the last, but this can be overlooked due to the realistic handling of the couple’s relationship.
Overall, the film without a doubt has its faults, but a little sense of pragmatism makes it fresher than its impractical predecessors in the genre. Don’t expect to find the next great romantic comedy in this effort, it’s not here. “Going the Distance” is harmless entertainment worthy of a rainy day movie marathon, nothing more, nothing less.
Where to Find It: In theaters 9/3
Rating: 2 ½ stars
The film makes no apologies for the thirty-year-old characters, which are just as committed to their jobs as to their relationship. Drew Barrymore is Erin, who works one summer in New York City as a summer intern at a newspaper. Her life is slightly off track, due to her past decision to halt her professional life and follow her boyfriend across country. Erin wants to be able to work at the city’s newspaper, but is struggling to find a job in a world where people are getting laid off by the thousands. Justin Long is Garrett, who works at a record label company signing up and coming artists. He is the type of guy who is afraid of commitment, and it is established well in the first scene with a cameo from Leighton Meester.
The thirty-somethings meet at a bar, and soon Garrett takes Erin home for a drunken one night stand. After they have breakfast in the morning, they realize they have a real connection and would like to see each other again. They agree to keep their fling on a six week timeline until Erin is forced to move back to San Francisco where she lives, but before Erin’s plane leaves, Garrett has a change of heart, and they both decide that their six week summer fling has turned into much more.
What’s so surprising about this film is the sense of realism. The arguments the couples have are realistic. They both make logical, well thought-out decisions, instead of the idealistic big romantic gestures usually seen in other romantic comedies. Should Erin move across the country to New York to wait tables, but be with Garrett? Or should Garrett find some sort of work in San Francisco to be with Erin? These are the decisions faced by the character with a fresh amount of maturity unseen in other romantic comedies. This if the film’s largest strength.
On the other hand, the film can be clunky at times. The comedy aspect of this film is handed down to the supporting cast, and the pressure is mostly forced on Christina Applegate, who was good, but not great. Jim Gaffigan, as Applegate’s character’s dopey husband, does not really bring much to the table. Garrett’s best friends provide a little bit of idiocy to milk some laughs. One exception is one particular scene with the couple having a late night, drunken romp on a dining room table.
Nanette Burstein is a documentary film-maker for the most part, and it shows. A couple of oddly filmed scenes stick out like a sore thumb—particularly when the couple is dining in New York City, the scene is shot with a handheld camera. Superimposed images, like showing the couples texts back and forth and a map of the United States, proves to be distracting unwanted, and juvenile.
Justin Long shows a new sense of maturity in this film, the likes of which are not seen in his previous supporting roles. One senses that Long is definitely ready to helm first billing in a film. Drew Barrymore looks as old as ever and acts the same way in every film. Her characters are always indistinguishable from the last, but this can be overlooked due to the realistic handling of the couple’s relationship.
Overall, the film without a doubt has its faults, but a little sense of pragmatism makes it fresher than its impractical predecessors in the genre. Don’t expect to find the next great romantic comedy in this effort, it’s not here. “Going the Distance” is harmless entertainment worthy of a rainy day movie marathon, nothing more, nothing less.
Where to Find It: In theaters 9/3
Rating: 2 ½ stars
I forgot to mention how excited I was for Leighton!
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