Movie Review - Going the Distance

Going the Distance (2010)

Starring Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Christina Applegate

Directed by Nanette Burstein

I genuinely want someone to explain to me why Drew Barrymore is popular.  Yes, her popularity has certainly (thankfully) been waning in recent years, but she's a well-known actress.  Is is simply because she overcame her addictions?  If that's the case, are we in for decades of shitty Lindsay Lohan movies in years to come?  Really...why do girls like Drew Barrymore so much?  The fascination is beyond me and even with an explanation I'll probably never understand it.  Still, despite this Hollywood conundrum, I subjected myself to a Drew Barrymore film this evening and Going the Distance (as expected) did nothing to validate her stardom.

Truth be told, it isn't Barrymore's fault that Going the Distance doesn't work.  In fact, this "rom com" (as the hipsters would call it) features a romance between the two leads that is surprisingly believable.  Between Barrymore and her co-star Justin Long, there was some palpable chemistry evident.  However, the film is just so flat and boring, never creating any type of story arcs for either lead as it attempts to fill the story void by adding some comedic unrealistic "buddy" characters who simply padded the film's running time.  Nothing against Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Christina Applegate (who all provided their own moments of humor), but their characters were pointless.  

As the couple tries to make the most of a long distance relationship (hence the cleverness of the title), the film just stays inert and feels so incredibly generic.  And generic is, I think, my problem with Ms. Barrymore.  I think that Barrymore is probably a nice person -- in fact, I think she plays that nice person onscreen in every single role.  I don't really think she's acting (Zack Galifianakis -- beware because this rant is coming your way next).  And therein lies my problem with her.  When all of your characters are the same, I simply can't really care about what you're doing.  But, really, there's no need to discuss this in this review because the fault of the film doesn't lie with her...and I'm sure there will be another film somewhere down the line where it will be her fault, so I'll withhold those feelings until then.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+