Also, I'm wary of rom-coms in general because they pack on the cheese for some cheap emotion. It's like the heartwarming equivalent of someone jumping out from behind the door in a horror movie, while the filmmakers pat themselves on the backs for making emotional and terrifying movies, respectively.
This movie was distinctly... different. It contains a lot of "frat boy" humour, with the laugh-out-loud moments coming thick and fast in the first hour. It feels like it was made for the non-standard rom-com watcher - either men, or a previously untargeted kind of woman (maybe both). Which I found refreshing.
The move was also surprisingly naughty.
The influence of a female director was clear - the men weren't the only ones talking candidly about sex, and the female protagonist wasn't a picture of idealised femininity.
The movie is about two people - Garrett (Justin Long) and Erin (Drew Barrymore) - that fall in love six weeks before Erin has to move to the other side of the country. They decide to try the long-distance relationship, seeing one another once every few months, which is fraught with pain and complications.
While the movie could easily have played on the sexual tension between the separated couple and their hot co-workers, full of temptation culminating a huge misunderstanding and a scene of one or more characters staring out of a window at the rain, this was avoided, much to my relief.
Instead, the emotions came from the intra-couple difficulties of a long-distance relationship. The film also contextualises the recent recession - neither of the characters is able to move to their sweetheart's city because, well, there just isn't work so they're grateful to keep the jobs they have.
If you're looking for something both men and women can enjoy, I'd recommend it.
