‘Going The Distance’ is NOT a ‘Rocky’-like Film :-(
When I was looking through the list of potential press screenings I could attend a few weeks ago I came across a title that instantly grabbed my attention, Going The Distance. Now, when I think of the title Going The Distance my mind immediately drifts to against all odds films like Rocky and such. I tend to put a lot of deep thought into the meaning of words, more so than the average person, so imagine my surprise when I found out that Going The Distance was actually the name of a romantic comedy starring the real life couple of Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. “Turtles in a half shell!” I was shocked!
In addition to Drew and Justin, the film also stars Charlie Day, Jason Sudekis, Christina Applegate, Rob Riggle and more. Early reviews coming in, critically speaking, are not fairing so well for the movie, but I found Going The Distance to be mildly enjoyable for the most part. What does “mildly enjoyable” even mean? Well, let me break it down for you like this. If a date or a significant other dragged me to this (me, being the man in the relationship, obviously), I would come out of the theater with a smile on my face. While there’s nothing original about the subject matter whatsoever, the R-rating lent a big hand in generating some much needed laughs from the audience courtesy of the very crude and vulgar comedic situations transpiring onscreen. If I can be analytical for a moment, I would place this film alongside the likes of My Best Friend’s Girl. While that film was every bit as predictable as this one, there also, the hard R-rating gave us guys something to cheer about and the women still got what they came for every time, a romantic love story. So you see, everything balances out for the good of both parties involved here. Yea! Win-win!
So our story goes a little something like this. There’s this woman (Drew), who is said to be 31 years of age in this movie (although she looks a lot older than that) and is a visiting intern at a NY newspaper. Obviously, her dream is journalism. On the flip side, there’s this guy (Justin) who appears to have his life together working for a record company (a former dream job of mine) recruiting new talent, but he doesn’t seem very happy with his career and life in general. Not only is he unhappy in his work, but also he’s also unlucky in love. And there’s the “ah” moment. Now we know why he is unhappy in life. Then one fateful day, boy meets girl playing a Centipede video game machine at a bar. It was true love at first sight. When something special like this happens in real life you have to hold onto it and preserve it, right? So when it’s time for Erin (Drew) to move back to California after her internship ends, the strength, elasticity and vitality of their relationship is truly tested. So just how much heartache will they both suffer and how many sacrifices will they make to ensure their love survives? Well, that’s the whole Act II and III of the story so I’m not going to spoil anything, although I bet you can already guess the ending, huh? “Golly gee,” is it really that predictable? Of course it is!
Really guys, it all comes down to this. Your girl or significant other is going to want to see this, understandably so. What are you dragging your feet for? Bite the bullet! I can almost guarantee you that there is some really great guy humor to be had within this feature (unless you’re just a no fun “sour puss” kind of person) and you will both walk out of the theater unscathed. Now the Benjamins in your pocket, well that’s a whole other story. I suggest a matinee screening, microwave popcorn and a big purse, but you did not hear that from me.
Comments are currently closed.