My Review: Going the Distance (5/10)

¨A comedy about meeting each other halfway. ¨

Oscar nominated documentary director Nanette Burstein brings us ¨Going the Distance¨, which marks the first time she directs a fictional film. It`s a rom/com that deals with long distance relationships and the screenplay was written by first time screenplay writer Geoff LaTulippe. Justin Long and Drew Barrymore play the two main characters who begin a no strings attached relationship, but end up falling in love despite the fact that Drew`s character, Erin, is moving from New York to San Francisco. Justin Long is Garrett, a guy who works in New York for a record label and who isn`t looking for a serious relationship with Erin because he knows she is going to leave soon, but their friendship grows and love blossoms. Both decide they can`t let such a good thing end and decide to continue their relationship despite the distance. Justin and Erin try to make the relationship work, but they face several difficult situations that most people who have had long distance relationships can identify with. The movie mixes comedy with romance and at the same time it has several situations we can identify with. Some of the secondary characters enhance the comedy, such as Christina Applegate who plays Erin`s married sister who is very uptight and overprotective. Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis play Dan and Box, Garrett`s best friends who have some of the funniest lines in the movie. The chemistry between Barrymore and Long is good and the screenplay has several funny moments, but at the end of the film you realize you have already seen this movie before since it ends up being pretty predictable. This is one of those movies that had potential to be so much better, but at the end it stuck with Hollywood`s predictable rom-com formula. You might have an enjoyable movie going experience with Going the Distance, but it is far from memorable and by the end of the day you will have forgotten all about it. For people who have gone through long distance relationships and its struggles, then they may feel drawn towards it and identify with some of the things happening, but as a comedy I was expecting a little more.

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