Coming off American Teen in 2008, documentarian Nanette Burstein delivers her first narrative feature with Going The Distance. Fusing her previous improv style with standard raunchy jokes, this romantic comedy glides by thanks, in large part, to steady laughs and some great supporting players. Ironically, though led by Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, their real-life relationship has a tough time translating to the screen. With their romantic connection anchored on a string of improved montages in the first act, it’s difficult to invest in the need for these lovebirds to “go the distance.”
Cleverly opening with another failed relationship in Garrett’s (Long) life, his friends take him to “the bar” where he meets Erin (Barrymore) over a game of Centipede. She has to leave her NYC newspaper internship in 6 weeks to head back to the west coast, but they decide to give it a go. Long distance. Without a clear reason why Long falls so hard in love with this particular someone, before you know it they are apart and trying to make it work.
When Long and Barrymore aren’t showing their love through painfully hip text messages displayed on screen, we are graced with the life of the film, which is the rest of the cast. Charlie Day, in his first feature role, plays the exact same character from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and this writer wouldn’t have it any other way. His over-the-top banter with SNL‘s Jason Sudekis is a welcome distraction from the suffocating romance. Add in hilarious small bits from Jim Gaffigan and Rob Riggle around the dinner table, and viewers will be left wishing they had more screen time.
Burstein achieved the magic of love to a greater extent in American Teen, so it’s a wonder that she can barely fabricate any sort of resonance here. The main problem hinges on Geoff LaTulippe‘s script. It’s all sex, sex, sex, sex. When they aren’t doing it, it’s all they are talking about. I have no problem with a sex comedy, as La Tulippe has clearly, and liberally, borrowed from the Judd Apatow camp. The big difference in the latter set, however, is that those raunchy moments are effortlessly married with the genuine relationships. Here, it comes across as tacked-on as a weak punchline.
Although the forced edgy factor can be overbearing, Distance handles timely issues of the job market and the mechanics of a long distance relationship with thought. Even though the romance can’t sustain the flight, this rom-com flies a few miles higher than your standard fare.
7 out of 10
What did you think of Going The Distance?