Film Reviews

Going The Distance

• Rating:
• Director: Nanette Burstein
• Starring: Christina Applegate
• Details: US/109mins 15A

Attempting to tell a relationship story from a grounded point of view, this tale of long distance love can sometimes feel like an offbeat indie flick and others the mandatory cliché-ridden studio effort you'd expect. When it feels real, it's on account of the two leads; Barrymore and Long obviously know each other very well and their improvised lines are suitably raw and genuine. However, all the supporting players are one note, cardboard cut out characters that you've seen in countless other productions.
Barrymore and Long play two attractive, available young folk who meet in a bar one night, hit it off, then head back to his place to smoke some weed and have relations. Just as she's about to do the walk of shame the next morning, they get talking and realise they actually quite like each other. But she's moving back to San Francisco in six weeks, and he lives in New York; so they promise not to get too attached and keep things light. One getting-to-know-you montage later and the two are full blown in love, as a relationship separated by thousands of miles begins.
Other films have attempted the same 'loose' approach to the romantic comedy genre before, and hit home runs - Knocked Up and The Break Up - and former documentary filmmaker, Burstein, obviously agreed with their approach. The problem here it is that she isn't sure whether or not to go down the broader route, or stick with the alternative tactic of improv' and realism. This makes the film inherently choppy; just as a character is about to have a real emotion, their comedy relief mate/significant other takes them to an overtly cinematic bar to partake in the aforementioned comic relief. Admittedly, one or two of those exchanges is amusing.
When conversations between Long and Barrymore are taking place, face to face, every word feels genuine, and you buy these two falling in love. They're part of a real life on/off relationship, and the intricacies of that union are (maybe subconsciously) explored on screen here. Chemistry isn't something that happens too much in a real life; couples get on, and either move on, or away from each other. That's the case here, and that's when this film works.
Hollywood needs to stop casting the same 'comic relief' characters in different guises from Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, as it's now repetitive and tiresome. Going The Distance, however, has just enough freshness and solid acting to make it a decent date movie.

Review by Mike Sheridan