Review for Going the Distance

Going the Distance is a romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of long distance relationships. Erin (Drew Barrymore) is working as an intern for a New York newspaper when she meets Garrett (Justin Long) a music executive and they embark of a relationship that unfortunately can only last six weeks with Erin having to return to San Francisco. Unable to give up on each other they decide to have a long distance relationship. This results in a lot of missed calls, longing and travelling. But as this goes on with them missing each other too much, Erin is offered a dream job for a newspaper and must make a choice between the job and Garrett.

Anyone who has ever been in a long distance relationship will understand the pain and the suffering that this can cause and the worry about infidelity as Erin's sister played wonderfully by Christina Applegate warns 'He could be dry humping the whole of New York!' This film is a perfect romantic comedy pitched just right between the two so that it doesn't have too much over the top comedy to make it unrealistic, but isn't too saccharine sweet to make it a chick flick. Instead the chemistry between Barrymore (who just never seems to age) and Long is great and there is an extra perfect dynamic of Garrett's friends Box and Dan, who lives with Garrett and in a hilariously perfect moment attempts to DJ music the Erin and Garrett's love making with Berlin's 'Take My Breath Away'.

The film is full of funny moments including Garrett attempting to get a spray tan, his first unexpected meeting with Erin's sister and husband and also the antics of Charlie Day as Dan who really steals every scene he's in. The only thing that lets the film down is the fact that it all seems too cut and dry by the end and when the ending is finally revealed you may think 'Well, why didn't they do that in the first place?' There is also a rather bleak undercurrent of 'lack of jobs' that runs through the film which can be a little depressing. However, these are just minor bits that don't take much away from the overall film.

The DVD is let down somewhat by having only a few deleted scenes as extras. Though I wouldn't say this is a film that deserves a two disk special edition, some bloopers, behind the scenes or even a commentary would have been nice. These deleted scenes are mostly throwaway stuff, but a few of them that show the problems with travelling really should have been kept as it would have shown even more the problems of the long distance relationship.

I would be lying if I said that Going the Distance was a perfect film. It's not. However even though it is not a classic film that will stand the test of time, it is an enjoyable fun film that I'm sure people who go the distance with it will enjoy.