PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES
||HOME
MOVIE REVIEW
Going The Distance
Distance And Fond Hearts: Never The Twain Shall Meet
A
messy situation: Drew Barrymore as Erin and Justin Long as Garrett in "Going The
Distance", directed by
Nanette Burstein. The film opened yesterday in the U.S.
Warner Brothers
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Saturday,
September 4, 2010
New York and San Francisco.
Both attractive yet dissimilar. One is international, fast-paced and
highly diverse. The other is scenic, slow-paced and beautiful.
None of these aspects of the two cities is on display in Nanette Burstein's
comedy "Going The Distance", which opened yesterday in the U.S. and Canada.
The film's focus is on a long-distance relationship between Erin (Drew
Barrymore), a journalist who lives in San Francisco, and Garrett (Justin Long),
who lives in New York.
There's little excitement in the film, which distilled to its essence features
bodily fluids and barbecue sauce. Neurotic women, juvenile men who still
think they are 15 going on 6 1/2, and cynical married men -- cartoon characters
all. They are all here. The problem with "Going The Distance" is
that despite the likable leads, the rest of this retread of a film and much of
its script (by Geoff LaTulippe) is neither interesting nor funny.
For starters, the film always feels as if it is concluding, not developing.
The editing (by Peter Teschner) is at times very abrupt, and those who saw the
film's trailer will not see some of its content in the film. Nor will they
feel the energy or flavor of two great American cities. Beyond steady
employment and the fear of change, why is it hard for one to leave a city to
move to another for the one you love? I know it's a comedy, but why aren't
those questions and intangibles adequately shown or discussed in "Going The
Distance"? And why is "Sleepless In Seattle" a far better film? (And
yes, for all its warm, fuzzy corniness, it is.)
Here, Erin has few if any friends, beyond the kooky Corinne (Christina
Applegate), and Garrett doesn't appear to have much of a day job. (The
economy would be a big factor as well, which goes largely unspoken in this film.
Journalistic casualties are hardly documented.) Again, economy aside,
where's the difficulty in leaving for Erin and Garrett? The director
assumes that we know enough about San Francisco and New York as American
cities and about the complexities of love, togetherness and individual
self-interest to understand the dilemmas of Erin and Garrett. After all,
on the surface they appear relatively happy people. Not shiny happy, but
happy enough.
Yours truly and countless millions around the globe have experienced
long-distance relationships. Some thrive. Some don't. And for
me, the same two cities in the film were involved. A New Yorker, I loved
San Francisco to pieces, and my girlfriend at the time was living there.
She and I would take turns flying roughly every three months from our respective
cities to see each other. Within a year, I couldn't take it anymore.
I headed to San Francisco, and have never looked back. The Big Apple
however, is still the most irresistible city on Earth. Its energy and
appeal are unparalleled.
In "Going The Distance" it is often difficult to tell who is coming and going
and which city Erin and Garrett are in. (My cheeky little hunch tells me
that they are both in Los Angeles for most of this movie.) Both New York
and San Francisco are so truncated here that we get little sense of them beyond
their fleeting backdrops. In other films these cities are distinct
characters even if they actually have little to do with the underlying fabric of
the story at hand. Here, where both cities are heavily advertised in the
trailer, shown playfully in the opening credits and mentioned throughout the
film, they are virtually invisible.
Ms. Barrymore and Mr. Long were part of the large ensemble cast of 2009's
"He's Just Not That Into You", though they never
met. (It appears that the "Going The Distance" filmmakers are Just Not
Into New.) This film seems like a odd reshuffle of character interactions
from last year's New Line Cinema romance film.
Hollywood romantic comedies with 20-and 30-somethings all feel and look the
same, with the same people, the same bad jokes and way past tired sight gags.
There's little that is new, including the 1980s iconography and the "There's
Something About Mary" moments. That trend continues here. (Rent
"(500) Days Of Summer" if you want an American
romantic comedy that delivers fun, fresh ideas and sincerity.)
In "Going The Distance" the film, not its main characters, goes halfway.
The filmmakers forget that the game of love is a marathon not a sprint.
With: Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kelli Garner, Jim Gaffigan, Ron Livingston,
Natalie Morales, June Diane Raphael.
"Going The Distance"
is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for sexual content including dialogue, language
throughout, some drug use and brief nudity. The film's
running time is one hour and 38 minutes.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE POPCORN REEL MOVIE
REVIEWS RSS FEED
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES
||HOME