Review: Going the Distance

Grade: B+

Garrett has just broken up with his girlfriend so he and his two best friends decide to go to the bar. There, he meets Erin when he interrupts her game play, so he buys her a beer. They have a great night together and head back to his place. The next morning over breakfast he learns that she is only in town for the summer while she interns at a newspaper, and will soon be returning to San Francisco to finish grad school. At first they agree to not let it get serious but it quickly does, so when Erin departs for San Francisco, they agree to do everything they can to make the long distance relationship work.

Going the Distance was surprisingly good, I really felt that it was going to be cliché and only have a couple funny parts but I was wrong. To start, I didn’t realize that it was rated R, and yes, that made all the difference. If they tried to take this very funny and, at times, raunchy movie PG-13, it would have dumbed down the humor so much it wouldn’t be funny anymore. Instead, I found myself laughing hysterically through most of the movie. This movie is definitely my kind of romantic comedy, by that I mean it has a little more comedy than romance.

Justin Long (Accepted, Live Free or Die Hard) plays Garrett and Drew Barrymore (Whip It, Charlie’s Angels) plays Erin. I am a pretty big fan of Justin Long, he is very funny and does a great job with the roles he does. Drew Barrymore tends to be pretty hit and miss with me but she is a definite hit in Going the Distance. These two have great on screen chemistry and played off each other so well which really helped make the movie that much more enjoyable.

The supporting cast in the movie was great too. Charlie Day (TVs It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) plays Dan, Garrett’s best friend and roommate. Day was absolutely hilarious in this movie, every time he opened his mouth, or really did anything, it would make me laugh. Jason Sudeikis (The Bounty Hunter, TVs Saturday Night Live) plays Box, Garrett’s other best friend. He was pretty funny in this too and he and Day played off each other very well. Christina Applegate (Anchorman, The Sweetest Thing) plays Corinne, Erin’s sister. She was great too and very funny. Jim Gaffigan (Away We Go, TVs My Boys) plays Phil, Corinne’s husband. Gaffigan was absolutely hilarious in this movie. The movie also features Ron Livingston, Kristen Schaal, Rob Riggle and more.

This movie is actually very funny and very sweet. I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I would. If you are looking for a good romantic comedy with just the right amount of drama, go see Going the Distance.

Great quote: “Would you pay attention to me for one second, I’m trying to talk about how there are no baby pigeons.”