Both on screen and off, Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are adorable, almost annoyingly so. They’re like those Sour Patch Kids commercials: one minute you want to punch them in the gonads, the next you want to bear hug them. In Going the Distance, the gosh darn adorableness of this sometimes real-life couple is put on full display, and foul language and even penis talk can’t decrease their sheer huggability factor. What keeps you from getting a toothache is the fact that Going the Distance goes for something more honest than most rom-coms, more light-hearted, and, frankly, more enjoyable.
Barrymore plays Erin, a 31-year-old aspiring journalist interning at a New York newspaper. Erin is at a bar (and girl, if I was 31 and still interning, I’d be knocking them back too) when she meets record-label rep Garrett (Long). They bond over retro arcade games and Top Gun, bringing it back to Garrett’s apartment for bong hits and make-out sessions to Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away,” amusingly blasted through the wall by Garrett’s eavesdropping roommate (Charlie Day). Erin and Garrett have a one-night stand, but, unlike many one-night stands of yore, they realize they actually like each other and decide to keep dating. *Insert falling-in-love montage here.*
Of course, all goods things can’t last. It turns out that after the summer ends in a few weeks, Erin must return to San Francisco to resume graduate classes at Stanford, leaving Garrett brokenhearted in New York. But, surprise (as if the title totally didn’t give this away) ! The couple decides they care enough to try a long-distance relationship. So they succumb to late night calls, Skype dates, botched attempts at phone sex, and the general sadness, horniness and frustration that goes along with dating someone three thousand miles away.
Despite these dating difficulties, there’s a rare optimism and honesty in Erin and Garrett’s relationship. There’s no pretending to hate each other while secretly lusting after one another. They’re not forced together by a high-concept; they’re not spies or hookers or any of the other asinine premises movie producers cook up. They just genuinely like each other. While it’s a refreshing concept, because there’s no uncertainty about their feelings for each other, there’s also no conflict. There’s no unveiling of a big lie or secret affair or anything that would break up the couple at the 2/3 mark, leaving them to mope around for 20 minutes, only to realize what they’re missing, reunite in a big public display of affection, and live happily ever after. There really is no obstacle other than the distance. Thus, much of the latter half of the film, feels like prolonging the inevitable.
What keeps the movie chugging along, however, is the immensely likeable cast. The real-life history and easy rapport between Barrymore and Long keeps their on-screen chemistry popping and believable. Granted, they don’t sizzle like Brangelina (but really, who does?), but the comfort and care they have for each other translates well to the screen. Christina Applegate, taking a page out of the Leslie Mann manual for potty-mouthed, protective older sisters, is hilariously judgmental as Erin’s older sis Corrine. Jason Sudeikis, as Garrett’s cougar-loving bestie Box, and Jim Gaffigan, as Corrine’s husband, are also welcome additions. However, the scene-stealer is hands down Charlie Day, who is to Going the Distance what Zach Galifianakis was to The Hangover, all bearded, dim-witted hilarity.
The script, written by Geoff LaTulippe , has a snappy, contemporary feel, mixing rom-com standards with just the right touch of indie film sensibilities to make it feel fresh. It mixes one-part the romantic realness of 500 Days of Summer, one-part Apatowian bawdy humor, much of which is refreshingly from a female point of view (Barrymore and Applegate’s characters discuss everything for oral sex to dry humping), and adds a nice dash of sweetness.
Going the Distance does what most romantic comedies nowadays fail to do – actually be romantic and comedic – and that’s reason alone to go see it. Well, that and Charlie Day with a Hitler ‘stache (really): B
