‘Going the distance’ when sky miles come in handy

Yet, however endearing it might be – it has a unique style reminiscent of that found in Kevin Smith’s indie favorite “Chasing Amy” -- director Nannette Burstein’s debut feature is unable to maintain a coherent emotional tone and humor throughout, mostly due to a confused screenplay penned by Geoff La Tulipe, which tries to be everything at the same time: serious but juvenile.

It’s a hot summer in New York, and Garrett (Justin Long), a young record label executive, has just been dumped by his girlfriend because of his emotional detachment. He goes out to his favorite bar with his man-child friends Dan (Charlie Day) and Box to unwind. Luckily his friends, despite their own emotional retardation, confront him: “You never commit to a girl, and then you’re so surprised when they leave you. And we have to listen to the same story over and over again.”

Well, Garrett doesn’t know what he’s in for as that very night he encounters the plucky Erin (Drew Barrymore), an intern at the New York Sentinel. It’s not love at first sight, but there’s definitely something between the two. What starts off as a light, entertaining fling quickly transforms into a hearty romance. The only catch is, Erin is going back to San Francisco at the end of the summer to complete her final year at grad school.

When Garrett takes her to the airport for their final goodbyes, they both come up with the “revelation”: Maybe they can make it work! So the long distance relationship begins with all its disadvantages: the time zone difference, the large phone bills, texting, Skype, tempting strangers, the jealousy, discouraging friends, expensive plane tickets. No, there are no advantages (the film is pleasantly upfront on that point). Anyone who’s been in such a relationship knows that just because one’s got so much space it doesn’t mean anything when there’s so much abundance of it. How long can the couple endure the distance? But of course, this is a Hollywood movie, and despite its alternative façade and soundtrack, there will be a happy ending -- which involves no one making any sacrifices and both of them landing ideal jobs.

What makes the film work is the chemistry between Barrymore and Long. They are both attractive people without being outrageously beautiful. Barrymore’s laugh is contagious and ardent, Long’s soft-spoken presence and lack of pompousness is a much-needed reminder that not all romantic comedy male leads are knights in shining armor.

The film’s merging of economic factors into the plot is welcome and makes the film feel appropriate for adults, and realistic -- for it’s not just the distance and working schedules that cause problems, but the lack of money to travel back and forth continuously. However, this problem is consistently undercut by the toilet humor of Garret’s sidekick friends and the systematically mundane comments made by Erin’s overprotective and two-dimensional older sister, played by Christina Applegate -- who is indeed trying to be as cutely neurotic as the script can allow her. For timeless neurotic older sister characters, please check Leslie Mann in “Knocked Up.”

Another shortcoming of the film is the usual “falling in love” montage sequence. Can someone please tell Hollywood that audiences don’t immediately take for granted that two people are soulmates just because, in a series of juxtaposed images, they are shown laughing, sharing an ice-cream or running around on the beach together. Not only viewers, but also actors deserve better than that.

Still with one of the best soundtracks of the year (three songs from the band The Boxer Rebellion) and radiant performances by the leads -- who were apparently in a real-life relationship during filming -- “Going the Distance” becomes an enjoyable watch sprinkled with a handful of emotional truths -- of course, never going too deep.