It soon becomes clear that this is not "500 Days of Summer," despite the film's best efforts at recreating last year's wonderfully artsy, independent summer hit. These attempts came across as awkward and disorienting at best. An otherwise simple scene between Erin (played by Drew Barrymore) and Garrett (played by Justin Long) at an outdoor restaurant, for example, is disjointed by odd camera angles and documentary-styled dialogue that failed despite Burnstein's more humble documentary-making roots.
Perhaps in an another attempt to distance itself from the run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, the film relies on an elementary plot twist: the night before Erin leaves her summer internship in New York City to finish grad school in San Francisco, the couple shares cheap wine at a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, reflects on their "amaaazing" past six weeks, and decides to stick together despite the distance. Enter the central conflict of the film.
The next hour of the movie plods boringly along as it depicts the traditional challenges of a long-distance relationship struggles over time difference, jealousy over each other's attractive coworkers and the angst of sexual deprivation.
Not even the two leads, despite their talents can give the film the lacking sense of authenticity. Although Barrymore has long been a Hollywood favorite and Long is beloved for his boyish nerdiness, the pair delivers a disappointingly dry performance. In attempts to create a "real-life" depiction of a long-distance relationship, the usually witty, colorful Barrymore and Long fall short of creating the kind of on-screen spark audiences may have expected. Likewise, Erin's grumpy, aloof "New York Sentinel" editor (Matt Servitto) and Garrett's bumbling, rude pair of best friends (Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day), despite being quirky characters, failed to conjure charm and added little of interest to the movie.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the film is its attempt to mask the lack of originality, poor acting and trite plotline with a never-ending sequence of sexual encounters, references, jokes, allusions you name it. Explicit sex scenes of Erin and Garrett on her sister's kitchen table, their failed attempt at intimacy over the phone and an in-depth conversation between Erin and her sister about personal position preferences were are a few of the film's gratuitous I-really-didn't-need-to-see-that moments.
The string of superfluous f-bombs accompanying most arguments, moments of elation or even everyday conversations represented further efforts to conceal the absence of a clever script. The foul-mouthed monologues of usually hilarious "Anchorman" (2004) and "Samantha Who?" (2007) humorist Christina Applegate, who played Erin's sister a bitter, overtired mother named Corinne elicited only a few mild snickers from adolescent audience members for whom profanity itself is still a side-splitting novelty.
When Erin and Garrett's geographically conflicting career opportunities finally force the couple to split, the audience, thankfully, is not subjected to the expected series of heart-wrenching scenes. Erin is portrayed as a put-together woman enjoying newfound success as a front-page journalist, and Garrett is depicted stoically drinking at a bar with his two buddies.
These scenes, which almost suggest that the couple is better off apart, fail to ignite even a slight spark of sympathy in the viewer. Alas, the inevitable reunion of Erin and Garrett which should have offered audiences the biggest payoff of the film comes off as humdrum and unromantic.
"Going the Distance" either needed to be a sappy, predictable, heartwarming flick gushed over by groups of girlfriends across the country or it needed to commit to the documentary-like feel, ripe with plot turns, clever dialogue and endearing characters. Basically, Burstein had a choice to make, but failed to commit to either option, resulting in a film that tries to have it both ways.
In being over-trite, over-sexual and over-predictable, Burstein's flick went too far. In delivering the tug-at-your-heartstrings effect cherished by romantic comedy lovers far and wide, the film did not go quite far enough. In either case, Burstein failed to go the distance to create a memorable romantic comedy.
