This film would have been a whole lot better if co-stars Justin Long and Drew Barrymore hadn't gone quite such a long distance. Although it comes in at just under two hours, watching these two cuddle and coo and be impossibly cute with each other feels like it goes on and on for hours without end.

It has potential in the beginning -- a nice meet cute in a bar over a video game. Long's character Garrett has a decent job at a record label, and he has a couple of quirky friends (Charlie Day and Jason Sedaikis) who are fun to watch...for awhile, but their appeal soon wears thin. Barrymore's character Erin has a tough but witty chick charm that's engaging, although her hair and makeup not so much. This confuses me, because Barrymore usually has more control over her films. The lighting is tough on her, and her kohl rimmed eyes make her look both dated and aged. Together, the term "Rode hard and put away wet" comes to mind, and her frumpy wardrobe does nothing for her adorable figure. She looks like she has a lot more than three years on Long, and when she announces her age to be 31, you can hear the audience groan.

Still, they have a warm, new couple chemistry, and most of the jokes are spicy and fun, right up until the dating montage, at which point the film becomes tedius. See the adorable couple frolicking in the waves, trying on crazy hats in a store, smearing food on each other's faces, playing ball in the park. Yes, there's even a chase her to the airport scene, but at least it's in the middle, rather than the end.

They meet in New York where Barrymore is doing a newspaper internship, but at the end of the summer she returns to Northern California where she lives with her sister, waits tables, and studies for a graduate degree in journalism. The majority of the film, as the majority of their relationship, is a series of visits back and fourth. One starts wishing for a plane crash.

 I will say this for Going the Distance; it does a good job of relating the poignancy, pain and frustration of a long distance relationship--one between people in their early 20's. It's surprising that these characters, including Erin's older sister, (Christina Applegate) and her husband (Jim Gaffigan) aren't drawn a little more mature. But immaturity seems to be what much of the humor in the film is based on. Perhaps director Nanette Burstein, who is best known for her fascinating documentaries American Teen and The Kids Stays in the Picture, is finding her rom com footing. Going the Distance is not a bad effort, it's just a little too much effort. You've seen worse.

Rated R

—Lisa Johnson Mandell