Going The Distance (2010)

Lame romantic comedy about a long distance relationship, Drew Barrymore in San Francisco and Justin Long in New York, sputters and limps its way to its predictable conclusion. It's the kind of film where Long and his buddies (Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day) call each other "dude" and make juvenile masturbation jokes and when Barrymore, in all seriousness, declares SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION her all time favorite film I sank in my seat expecting the worst and I wasn't disappointed. The trite dialogue never musters above the routine. It's a shame because Barrymore (looking great) and Long have a wonderful knack for comedy but here their combined expertise can't help rescue a floundering screenplay. Whatever laughs the movie can muster up are courtesy of Christina Applegate as Barrymore's sister though how she manages it is anybody's guess. When you see what magic can still be done in the genre like last year's marvelous (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, this just looks anemic.