Review: Celeste & Jesse Forever

Celeste & Jesse Forever looks and smells like a romantic comedy.  From the cast (Rashida Jones as the Rom and Andy Samberg as the Com) to the trailers, which were cut to make you chuckle and tilt your head and say “awwwww” at the same time, this movie screams When Harry Met Sally and Serendipity.  However having watched the movie, I can tell you that it is precisely neither.  Sure, there’s a dash of romance and a pinch of comedy, but the film that director Lee Toland Krieger and writers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have cooked up is anything but.  What the film is, is an interesting look at what happens when the bridge between friendship and love falls apart and the process of rediscovering oneself in the aftermath.

The movie follows Celeste (Rashida Jones) and her estranged husband Jesse (Andy Samberg) - two individuals with an awkward if not unhealthy attachment to each other.  Their chemistry and friendship is such that it makes you wonder what beneath the surface differences are keeping them apart.  The story thus follows the ebb and flow between the two as they struggle to move on even in the face of life altering developments.

What works about this movie is that the main characters are flawed in small ways that allow them to remain likable and that they are put in situations that most everyone can relate to.  It gives the film an authentic and poignant feel.  Who hasn’t had that one relationship that should have worked out but for any number of barely perceptible reasons went awry?  And while there are certainly a few dramatic moments for entertainment’s sake, the way the creative team handles loose ends is subtle with a delicate touch.

This is very much Rashida Jones' film.  As Celeste, she receives the most screen time and her work in fleshing out the nuances of her character is key to making this narrative work, because it is Jones who acts as the catalyst to the plot and it is her loss that the audience experiences.  Jones does a remarkable job of creating a character who is maddening, likeable, flawed, and hopeful.  It is without a doubt her most complex role to date and she does a good job of pulling it off. 

Playing opposite her, Andy Samberg is perfectly cast as Jesse.  His character is everything you would expect from a typical Andy Samberg character without the over-the-top comedic hijinks.  He is adept at playing the immature but good-natured slacker and that’s precisely what he is asked to do here.  While I don’t think we’ll be seeing Samberg amongst the list of Oscar nominees any time soon, this film represents a good dramatic turn for the SNL alum.

As for the rest of the cast, Ari Graynor (What’s Your Number?) does a serviceable job as the best friend – a role that she always seems to play. Ditto for Eric Christian Olsen (Fired Up!) who is affable enough in the role of male confidant.  Elijah Wood, Will McCormack, and Chris Messina help to add a bit of depth to the plot in very little screen time, and Emma Roberts brings up the rear as the lone blemish in what is a fairly well acted movie.  Her performance as pop star Riley is a campy half-hearted attempt that is sorely out of place in a movie that is firmly grounded in realism. 

All the pieces come together to form a nice movie.  There are no big scenes or overly dramatic turns and no eye-popping visuals.  It’s a subtle take on two individuals and their ability (or inability) to cope with the intracasies of their relationship.  If this is your cup of tea, then you will love this movie.  If you are looking for laughter, romance, feel-good moments, catharsis, then you may not enjoy this film quite as much.  I would recommend this film for anyone who enjoys smaller scale movies with an indie flair, but know that you won’t feel rewarded at the end for watching this film.  You’re more apt to nod your head in empathy.

Standout Performance: Rashinda Jones.  This is the first movie I have seen where Jones is asked to carry the film and she does a very good job of portraying a complex character in a way that is both compelling and entertaining.

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Review: The Sitter

Who didn’t love Elisabeth Shue back in the eighties when she was the quintessential girl-next-door playing opposite Ralph Macchio in the true Karate Kid movie or subbing for Claudia Wells as Jennifer in the 2^nd and 3^rd installments of the Back to the Future Trilogy.  She didn’t quite reach Meg Ryan’s status as America’s Sweetheart, but I think for a lot of people, her performance in Adventures in Babysitting did a lot to nudge her into the conversation.

It really was only a matter of time before someone would attempt a remake (and make no mistake about it – The Sitter is a replica of Elisabeth Shue’s cult classic), but if ever there was a complete 180 in casting it would have to be Jonah Hill stepping into this lead role.  Don’t get me wrong.  I like Jonah Hill – he of Moneyball, 21 Jump Street, and Superbad fame, but this is one of those projects he should have passed on.

Hill plays Noah Green, a college dropout with little sense and even less direction, who is entrusted with looking after three troubled kids for an evening.  Add women, guns, and eccentric drug dealers to the mix and you have the setup for a symphony of errors.  The problem is that director David Gordon Green and writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka aren’t really up to the task of putting together a sound comedic production.

Hill is adequate but only because we are familiar with his shtick as a sarcastic degenerate slacker.  It’s a role he eases into like an old pair of sweatpants.  But jokes are poorly set up and punch lines extremely flat.  One of the key mechanisms to this movie is to establish a camaraderie between Hill and Landry Bender, Kevin Hernandez, and Max Records (the 3 kids he is charged with watching).  Unfortunately, there is little development in their relationship and that completely robs the plot of any sense of catharsis in the third act.

As for the rest of the cast, Ari Graynor is adequate as an incredibly self-centered and narcissistic woman who emotionally abuses Hill’s character; Sam Rockwell delivers his typically strong performance as the heavy who terrorizes Hill’s night; and Kylie Bunbury as a potential paramour for Hill is likable amidst a cast of misfit pieces.  Despite some inspired efforts, unfortunately the final product is less than the sum of the individual parts.  The blame for this has to fall on the source material.

I would avoid this one all together.  Even on free TV.  There are any number of Jonah Hill movies out there that are better to watch and to be honest, The Sitter is not even worth the postage fee Netflix pays to ship a DVD to you.  Going forward, let’s hope that Hill makes better comedic choices and that he also avoids pulling a Jim Carrey or an Adam Sandler on us by embarking on a run of movies that reflect a desire to pursue a career as a dramatic actor.  We could definitely use another installment of 21 Jump Street in the near future. 

Standout Performance:  Sam Rockwell.  He always brings something to each performance that makes it unique.   His performance as Karl is a memorable one.

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