Going the Distance (2010 film)

Going the Distance
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Nanette Burstein
Produced by	Jennifer Gibgot Jared Hess Adam Shankman
Written by	Geoff LaTulippe
Starring	Drew Barrymore Justin Long Charlie Day Jason Sudeikis Ron Livingston Christina Applegate
Music by	Mychael Danna
Cinematography	Eric Steelberg
Editing by	Peter Teschner
Studio	New Line Cinema Offspring Entertainment Flower Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	September 3, 2010 (2010-09-03)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$32 million
Box office	$42,045,846

Going the Distance is a 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Nanette Burstein, and starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. The movie began filming in New York City in July 2009, and was released on September 3, 2010.

Plot

Erin (Drew Barrymore) is a 31-year-old woman who is having trouble pacing her life. She is still in grad school and she recently got a job as a summer intern at a newspaper in New York. While out with a friend at a bar, she meets Garrett (Justin Long) who interrupts her game of Centipede. The two then drink together and end up at his place where they smoke from a bong and have sex while Garrett's roommate Dan (Charlie Day) "DJs their hook up". The next morning, Erin is anxious to leave but Garrett asks her to have breakfast with him and she agrees. She then tells him that she is only in New York for 6 weeks and is not looking for a relationship and he agrees with her stating that he had just got out of one and wants this to be casual.

Erin and Garrett start having a 'casual' fling but it quickly gets deeper for them causing Erin to try to convince her boss to find her a permanent position. Before the end of her internship, she writes an amazing article, which causes her boss to ask her to contact him in January regarding possible job openings. Meanwhile Garrett, who works at a record label, is given an assignment to manage a band he does not like at all and is starting to dislike his job.

They both continue with their fling; however when the six weeks are up they find it difficult to let go. After Garrett drives Erin to the airport they say goodbye, but just as Erin is about to leave Garrett runs after her and tells her that he is crazy about her and wants to have a long distance relationship with her. She agrees.

Over the next couple of months Erin and Garrett spend all their free time texting and calling one another trying to work out times when one of them can fly in. Garrett surprises Erin by showing up on Thanksgiving and they have a very emotional reunion. When they go to Erin's sister Corrine's house (where Erin is currently staying), they start to have passionate sex on the dining table while, unbeknownst to them, Erin's brother-in-law, Phil, is having dinner. Corrine eventually walks in and there is an awkward moment. The next day, Erin and Garrett are out to see The Boxer Rebellion, and they agree that the band is good. Garrett gets jealous when he sees that Erin is friends with Damon, a handsome bartender who works with her. Garrett eventually has to leave and goes back to New York.

In January, Erin calls her summer internship boss and asks him about the possibility of a job. He, however, tells her they are not hiring - that in fact they have just laid off 100 employees - which leads to great frustration for Erin. Not finding comfort in a phone conversation with Garrett, she goes and gets drunk with Damon and almost kisses him but ends up going home. Later, her professor mentions that he recommended her for a position at the Chronicle in San Francisco and she goes for an interview. Meanwhile, Garrett is going crazy because he misses Erin. Following the advice of his co-worker he tries to have phone sex with Erin but it does not go well.

A month later as Erin is packing to go to New York she gets a call from the Chronicle letting her know that she is hired. She goes to New York and tells Garrett and the two have a fight. The next day they make up and he asks her to make the decision whether or not to accept the job. A week later he calls her and tells her he wants her to move to New York so that they can live together and start fresh. She agrees and he goes to San Francisco to sort things out. However, after a conversation with Corrine, Garrett realizes that he cannot be the reason that Erin turns down the job and the two part ways after an emotional conversation and a long hug in the airport.

Six months later Erin is doing well with her career, having written her first front page story, and Garrett has not been with any woman since Erin. He quits his job and starts managing The Boxer Rebellion, the first band he and Erin saw together. He sends Erin tickets to their show and she goes, not knowing that he is the manager. She runs into him there and he tells her he has moved to Los Angeles. Since that is only a few hours away from San Francisco, they have another chance at a relationship. They go to Corrine's house to find Corrine and Phil "dry humping" on the table (like Garrett and Erin earlier in the film). The film ends when Erin's little niece, Maya, comes downstairs during the awkward moment, while they all scream "Maya! Statue!" (a running joke where Corrine kept yelling "Maya! Statue!" at her kid to make her stop moving erratically.)

Cast

• Drew Barrymore as Erin
• Justin Long as Garrett
• Charlie Day as Dan
• Jason Sudeikis as Box
• Christina Applegate as Corrine
• Kelli Garner as Brianna
• Natalie Morales as Brandy
• June Diane Raphael as Karen
• Ron Livingston as Will
• Rob Riggle as Ron
• Leighton Meester as Amy
• Kristen Schaal as Female Bartender
• Jim Gaffigan as Phil
• Sarah Burns as Harper
• Matt Servitto as Hugh
• Maria Di Angelis as Receptionist
• Meredith Hagner as Tanning salon employee
• Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Damon
• Mick Hazen as Zeff
• Mike Birbiglia as Waiter

Company Information

• New Line Cinema - Studio
• Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution - Domestic Theatrical Distributor
• New Line Cinema - Domestic Theatrical Distributor

Soundtrack

1. Generationals - "Either Way"
2. Georgie James - "Places"
3. Katie Herzig - "Hey Na Na"
4. Albert Hammond, Jr. - "In Transit"
5. The Cure - "Just Like Heaven"
6. The Pretenders - "Don't Get Me Wrong"
7. The Boxer Rebellion - "Spitting Fire"
8. Cat Power - "Could We"
9. Band Of Skulls - "Cold Fame"
10. Eels - "Prizefighter"
11. Passion Pit - "The Reeling" (Groove Police Remix)
12. Fanfarlo - "Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time"
13. The Replacements - "Here Comes A Regular"
14. The Boxer Rebellion - "If You Run"
15. Gotye- "Learnalilgivinanlovin"
16. The Airborne Toxic Event - "Half Of Something Else"

Three additional songs can be accessed through a link on the CD and on the digital deluxe version:

1. The Boxer Rebellion - "Evacuate"
2. Joe Purdy - "Miss Me"
3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - "40 Day Dream"

Release

The film's release date was moved from August 27 to September 3. Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution said "Moving to the Labor Day weekend not only allows us to take advantage of the long holiday weekend, but gives us some distance from the other female-driven films releasing in August."

Reception

Critical reaction

Reviews for Going the Distance have been mixed, with the film garnering a 51% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 110 reviews with an average rating of 5.5/10. Its consensus states that "It's timelier and a little more honest than most romantic comedies, but Drew Barrymore and Justin Long's screen chemistry doesn't make up for Going the Distance's overall flatness." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, calculated a "mixed to average" score of 50 based on 30 reviews.

Box office

The film grossed $6.9 million opening #5 behind The Last Exorcism, Machete, Takers, and The American.

External links

• Official site
• Going the Distance at the Internet Movie Database
• Going the Distance at AllRovi