Going the Distance is certainly not a tremendous cinema experience. Its studio, Warner Bros, seems to agree, plopped into the late summer/early fall with little fanfare and very few expectations. And yet, I found this to be one of the most effortlessly successful films I've seen lately. That it is so winning is a testament to what would seem to be a very simple formula: charming, likable leads, a story that could easily have been lifted from a real person's life, and enough actual jokes to make the comedy part of the genre more than empty nomenclature. To see it succeed makes one wonder why so many other films of its type so often fail so miserably (usually before they even begin).
To summarize for any that don't know, Going the Distance spins the story of Derrick (Justin Long) and Erin (Drew Barrymore), a couple that spends six blissful weeks together in New York before she has to jet back to the San Francisco Bay area to finish her graduate degree program. They spend the better part of the year that follows fighting to maintain their connection despite the continent separating them, an ordeal that leads to scenes of great humor and small (if effective) pathos. This is hardly revolutionary material, but its done with a sweetness and humor that make it entirely winning. In short, it's an excellent Saturday night date movie, especially if one is apt to bellow with laughter at Charlie Day (of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) doing his Charlie Chaplin impersonation in a bar populated by angry Jews.
In thinking about Going the Distance I couldn't help but wonder why a movie like this is such a rarity. It seems like the Romantic Comedy genre (one I am probably prone to love due to my fondness for sitcom's predictable comforts) is far too often filled with films that cannot provide even the cursory satisfactions that are within easy reach. Look for example at a few such films from earlier this year like Leap Year with Amy Adams, The Back-Up Plan with Jeniffer Lopez, or The Switch with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. All of those films had attractive or charismatic leads who could have easily pulled off a funny date night movie. Yet they all got bogged down in ridiculous plot machinations and high-concept nonsense instead of settling down and telling a sweet, simple, funny story. It's a frustrating trend, especially if one is apt to trolling through cable looking for something easy to watch. Certainly I do not expect or even want every Romantic Comedy to be along the lines of Woody Allen's Annie Hall, but would it be so hard for Hollywood to create more films like Going the Distance? They would certainly be getting a bit more business from my fiance and I.
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