On Saturday night, after the kids went to bed and the dishes were done, my wife and I sat down to have a little movie/date night. On the menu tonight? Going the Distance, a 2010 romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Justin “I’m a Mac” Long. I have little faith in films in the romantic comedy genre, as the track record is pretty shoddy. I believe that the last 20 or so that I’ve had the displeasure of watching were mind-numbing cloying and terrible. The plots are contrived, the characters are bland, and who is the audience? Women? All of the women act ridiculous. How can a film targeting a female audience always be about women talking about not having a man in their lives? This is supposedly what women’s lives are about? It doesn’t ring true, but maybe that’s just me.
Back to this film — to summarize, Barrymore and Long meet up through happenstance at a NYC dive bar, and they hit it off. Actually, they hook up, but they continue their little budding relationship in the six weeks that she will be in town before moving back to California. The two ultimately decide to continue their relationship long distance through phone calls, texting, and the occasional flight to see each other. The film features on how they attempt to keep the relationship going in spite of being thousands of miles apart.
Okay, so this wasn’t a terrible film. I didn’t quite find the two main characters very exciting, but the good news is that I didn’t feel the need to roll my eyes at any time. I’ve actually hurt myself during the viewing of a rom-com due to a reflex eye-roll, so I guess since I didn’t roll my eyes in this film, that’s a plus, no? This movie was definitely a rental, but it’s not that bad. I’ll rate this film zero eye-rolls, which is actually good thing.
Going the Distance (2010)