Romantic Comedy Goes The Distance

Romantic comedy. These words put together, much like the words “M. Night Shyamalan,” or “From the people who brought you Spy Kids,” are poison for a movie’s credibility. Hollywood cranks out a ridiculous amount of these movies every year, setting two famous actors in the same story with a different backdrop for the sole purpose of making money and wasting an hour or two of your time. Fortunately, the pattern of the past few years is broken every once and a while, and this time it’s been broken by Going the Distance, directed by Nanette Burstein.

Erin, played by Drew Barrymore, is a San Franciscan intern at a newspaper in New York. Garrett, played by Justin Long, works for a record label in New York. They meet. They fall in love. Unfortunately, Erin is not an intern forever, and must eventually return to the Bay Area to continue her college education and find a real job. They decide that their love for one another is too strong to throw away for the sake of a mere 3,000 or so miles.

The story is simple enough, but the context is what makes it relevant to the times. Because of the lack of jobs in their prospective fields, neither of the two can move to have a life with the other.

A problem with many modern romantic comedies is that they choose some of the least likable people to play their supposed–to–be relatable characters; for example last year’s The Ugly Truth starred Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, actors who represent extreme stereotypes of both genders. Now, no one has really ever commended Drew Barrymore for her elite acting talents, and this movie won’t do a thing to change that. Where Barrymore does succeed is in making someone likable, no matter how clunky the way she says “I love you.” sounds. She’s dorky and cute and she makes you root for her the entire movie. The same goes for Justin Long, who is a charming hybrid of nerdy and confident. And what makes every comedy that much better is a slew of amazing supporting characters. Garrett’s two best friends, played by Jason Sudeikis of Saturday Night Live and Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia add – although unneeded – comic relief to the film.

What keeps this from being a really, really good romantic comedy is its ending. At a certain point in the movie, Erin and Garrett say good–bye in the airport for one last time. They hold each other at the gate for his plane, the camera pans out, and you’re left with a weird melancholy satisfaction with the fact that the main characters didn’t get what they wanted. It’s refreshing. Then, the camera fades back in to our characters, and we realize that there are twenty minutes left of getting–back–together time. It’s happier, but it’s not better.

Going the Distance is not a perfect movie, but when you’re drowning in a decade of terrible romantic comedies, it’s the breath of fresh air a moviegoer needs.