Going the Distance

Year: 2010

Writer: Geoff LaTulippe

Director: Nanette Burstein

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis and Christina Applegate

Plot: Erin and Garrett strike sparks for a summer fling in New York City but neither expects it to last once Erin heads home to San Francisco. But after six increasingly romantic weeks, neither is sure they want it to end. So despite the opposing coasts, nay saying friends and family and a few unexpected temptations, the couple might just have found something like love. And helped by a lot of texting, sexting and late night phone calls, they might actually go the distance.

Going the Distance was one of those movies that despite looking like your typical rom-com, I actually expected a lot more from because it had got rave reviews. However, I was actually slightly disappointed with it. The main issue I had was with the casting. Drew Barrymore seems just way too old for this kind of movie now. Despite only being 36 years old, the hard partying years have taken their toll and the fact that she has been around in the movie world since the age of 7, means that she seems a hell of a lot older. She is also an extremely talented actress and director and I felt that her talents were let down by the poor writing. Justin Long on the other hand seems a lot younger than his 31 years and despite being really likable characters on screen, the match just doesn't work. There is no chemistry there which is often the case with real life couples. Remember Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut! ugh!

Justin Long's friends were played by Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis (of Saturday Night Live fame.) Jason Sudeikis was great as the older wiser friend with all the best advice, but Charlie Day played the bumbling stoner type which I feel is kinda outdated. He only had a couple of good lines revolving around the fact that he tended to listen in to Drew and Justin while in Justin's bedroom and then play appropriate movie sex scene music accordingly. Apart from that he mainly annoyed the hell out of me.

The real star of this movie has to be Christina Applegate, as Drew's older slightly OCD sister, she consistently had all the best lines and proved herself yet again to be a master of physical and verbal comedy. Any scene that she was in was laugh out loud hilarious. It was mainly for her that I kept watching and the fact that having been in a long distance relationship myself in the past, a lot of the scenarios were very familiar and often quite touching.

If you look at other reviews for this movie on Imdb, it seems that most people seemed to love it and I am in the minority. Maybe I expected too much of it and the fact that I don't really get the appeal of Justin Long probably did not help. But I would say that if you are looking for a amusing and touching romantic comedy that does exactly what it says on the tin and you are not expecting to be falling off your chair with laughter, or blown away by the dialogue and plot, then you could do worse than this.

If you have seen it let me know what you think. Am I the only one unimpressed by this movie?