If you’re in a long distance relationship and want to watch a movie that assures you that love conquers all, you might want to stay away from Going the Distance. Though it claims to chronicle the ups and downs of a functional long distance relationship, the characters only seem truly happy when they are both in the same time zone, within driving distance of each other — reminding the viewer that a long distance relationship is, unfortunately, a temporary and unsatisfying affair.
Barring that, Going the Distance is actually pretty funny. Drew Barrymore plays Erin, a wannabe reporter and grad student interning in New York City for the summer. After a hard day at the office she bumps into Garret, played by Justin Long, at a bar, and the two immediately hit it off. The catch is that Erin has to return to grad school in autumn — in San Francisco. The rest of the movie is devoted to showing how the pair attempts to keep the flame alive even as they live on either side of the continent.
Barrymore and Long both give solid performances, though the movie relies rather heavily on situational comedy as opposed to clever, witty writing. The characters have to deal with the usual pitfalls of a long distance relationship: trust issues, jealousy, conflicting schedules and the rising price of airfare, and each lesson is accompanied by a hilarious random incident. Watch out for the scene where Garret surprises Erin with a full-body fake tan — she isn’t the only one enjoying the glow.
The truly amusing characters, however, are actually the sidekicks. In New York, comic relief is provided by Garret’s inane roommates and in San Francisco, Erin’s obsessive-compulsive sister (played by Cristina Applegate) manages to steal the spotlight from the committed couple.
As far as light romantic comedies go, Going the Distance isn’t bad, and it will provide you with an evening full of laughs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really get under the skin of a long distance relationship. The real complexities of the arrangement are glossed over — there is only one slightly realistic scene in the movie which illustrates the difficulties of such an affair: When Garret meets Erin’s friends in San Francisco he is awkward and says all the wrong things, and it’s obvious he really doesn’t know anything about her day to day life on the west coast. Even though the characters claim to have fallen deeply in love with each other, their connection doesn’t come across as strongly as it should have.
Ultimately, the movie is exactly what you’d expect from a similarly themed romantic comedy — it is light, fluffy, and funny for a little while.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2010.
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