Maybe Hollywood has exhausted the possibilities of romantic comedies that have puns or numbers in the title, climax with someone chasing someone down at an airport, or end with snapshots of happy couples with their future children. In any case, there seem to be a steady trickle, not always evident in the multiplexes (unless Meryl Streep is in the movie), of movies that are comedic, and involve romance, but focus on something other than the how-will-they-finally-get-together. Like Streep’s Hope Springs, this involves an already-married couple (Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg) with difficulties.
What are these difficulties? They don’t seem apparent at first. In fact, the movie starts with Celeste, whose Hollywood-type job involves spotting cultural trends and writing a book called Shitegeist, and Jesse, an aspiring but unemployed artist, getting along famously, singing the lyrics to the same Lily Allen album cut. Only they’ve already decided to break up, which seems so bizarre that it freaks out their friends. And here the story begins, with the will-they-or-won’t-they-reunite question actually not clear until the end. Jones, who wrote the screenplay with Will McCormack, who plays a friend, has created a character who is both difficult in some ways and likable. Jesse is decidedly more laid back, and maybe lazy, but is also likable. Basically, you wind up rooting for the characters but do see their differences.
Dating adventures and get-togethers dominate the plot, as in many romantic comedies. There are just a few easy gags, as where a vegan restaurant has a seaweed menu and won’t, for some reason, serve caffeinated tea. And there’s a minor wedding-speech fiasco scene, which also seems to be a common item, but this one’s pretty funny. And since the movie takes place in Los Angeles, there are a few satirical swipes at the entertainment industry. But most of the humor comes out of the characters. Non-feather-light films like this one may or may not be romantic comedies as we have come to define them. But when they’re as simultaneously thoughtful and funny as this one, who’s to quibble?
viewed 8/14/12 7:30 at Ritz East [PFS screening] and reviewed 8/16/12
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