Going the Distance
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long
Real-life lovers traditionally do not make convincing on-screen couples, so it’s a welcome surprise, then, that on-off pair Drew Barrymore and Justin Long generate great chemistry in Going the Distance, a strong candidate for the most enjoyable rom-com of the year so far.
Long plays record company worker Garrett who starts a relationship in New York with wannabe writer Erin (Barrymore). The two click like Lego but soon Erin has to head back to San Francisco and the couple have to face up to the pain and insecurity of a long-distance relationship.
Refreshingly, the film is largely devoid of contrived plot-twists that are so prevalent in the rom-com genre. Most of the emotions the couple experience feel real, something that is helped by Barrymore and Long’s believable performances. True, director Nanette Burstein shoe-horns in some needless gross-out scenes that are at odds with the subtlety that precedes it, but Barrymore and Long are such charming leads, this is well worth checking out for those who have tried to keep a fledgling relationship going over the phone.
3/5
GOOD FOR: Romantics
Watch the Going The Distance trailer here.
Review: Pierre de Villiers
