Share Send Print

Going the Distance

movies|going%20the%20distance|2010-09-02

When Nick discovers that his future wife may be falling prey to a music producer, he flies to Toronto to win her back.

Video

This video cannot be viewed because you either have Javascript turned off, no Flash player or an older version of Flash. Get the latest Flash player

Editorial

Given the plastic quality of so many 2010 rom-coms, Going The Distance feels even more like a breath of fresh air, placing it nearer this year's (500) Days Of Summer as a quirky, entertaining lovefest you can get behind. It may not shake all of its movie-movie roots but at least it gives the impression of having one foot in real life, relationships and romantic dilemmas.

Most of this quality of recognition comes from Geoff LaTulippe's script. Our couple bond over the Centipede arcade game and Top Gun love and there are no overwrought plot machinations to break them up/get them back together again. Instead, for the most part, our couple have pokey living arrangements, struggle at admittedly good jobs and angst and agonise around the pangs of being apart. This is also a rare rom-com where the characters talk about and have sex.

Director Burstein adds lots of Sundance tics and traits, from animated titles to split-screens, The Cure, montages and iPhone messages popping up on screen. Yet the movie doesn't go full indie, both in tone and its neediness to cling onto modern rom-com staples. Garrett has a gaggle of wacky, slacker-esque Best Friends designed for a) comic relief and b) to show the sincerity of the hero. Erin has a similar foil in her big sis, broadly played by Christina Applegate. Yet Going The Distance's saving grace is its two leads. Whether it is due to them being a real-life off-on-off couple, Long and Barrymore have an easy chemistry and make for a winning pair. Long oozes charm in a rare lead and Barrymore does her vulnerable kook thang without ever being annoying. It is also a great showcase for one of cinema's unsung pleasures: Barrymore's dirty cackle. Long may it ring out.

Ian Freer