Going the Distance (Warner Brothers)
Two Movies In One
Going the Distance is a movie with an identity problem. At times it wants to be a sweet romantic comedy about a couple living on opposite sides of the country. At other times it wants to be a trash talking movie along the lines of The Hangover. The two identities never mesh satisfactorily but the charm of stars Drew Barrymore and Justin Long make it a movie worth seeing.
Erin (Barrymore) and Garrett (Long) meet in New York City at a bar when they both want to play the same video game. He has just ended a relationship with a girl named Amy (Leighton Meester) and she is recovering from a bad relationship with an unnamed guy. In short they are not looking to get involved any time soon.
What happens They get involved even though she is in New York on an internship at a newspaper and it will end in six weeks. At that time she will return to San Francisco to finish her Masters Degree. Garrett has a job with a record company that requires him to live in New York.
The relationship becomes intense very quickly and when the six weeks is up they vow to have a workable long distance relationship. That is easier said than done but it is what they are stuck with and they give it a valiant try.
Barrymore is at her most appealing in this film. She looks great and projects her natural charm which endears her to the audience. Long is her equal in the charm department and the two of them have a compatibility that makes them a believable couple. You accept their attraction to each other from the very first moment they share screen time.
Giving great comic support in the film is Christina Applegate as Erins sister Corinne. Jim Gaffigan is also good as Corinnes husband Phil. Charlie Day is a standout as Garretts roommate Dan, and Jason Sudeikis is also good as Garretts other friend Box.
The movie has some tender moments as a sweet romantic comedy but then abruptly becomes a movie full of profanity and sex talk. Then it switches back to the romantic comedy arena and then goes back to the ribald comedy. It is confusing to say the least and these opposing aspects are never resolved.
The movie is rated R for profanity, nudity and sex talk.
Barrymore and Long are so cute together and so appealing you accept them in either the sweet aspects or the dirty talking ones. Still it would have been nice to have them choose one road to the end.
If you can accept the more vulgar aspects of the movie you will have a good time with it. The story about long distance love is a pertinent one and the actors in this film play their roles perfectly. So get ready to have the air scorched with sexual conversations and then to be wrapped up in a sweet love story. It could have been better but this movie manages to charm nonetheless.
I scored Going the Distance a far away 6 out of 10.
