Celeste & Jesse Forever

I can't understand for the life of me why this movie has such a low rating! I went into this movie not expecting too much.. I don't mind Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones so I thought I'd give it a try. First off, don't watch this movie if you're looking for something full of laughs. It's not supposed to be something that has you in stitches. I thought it was a beautiful, well acted story of love and friendship. At times it was frustrating, heartbreaking, amusing and heartwarming. It made me smile and it made me sad. Both Samberg and Jones were pretty phenomenal in their acting in this movie. This movie stuck me as a more intelligent, realistic romance for those of us who are over the Nicholas Sparks sap. I'd recommend giving this movie a chance, I'm glad I did.

This film is pure candy. Rashida Jones wrote a story about a couple who love each other enough to call it quits while they're still in love. Both characters have flaws, but Samberg's character is to blame for the divorce because he's a child who is content to let his upwardly mobile wife carry the couple's financial responsibilities. As a result, Jone's character loses respect for him, and finds it hard to relate to him as a wife, but feels more like a mother. This is a common problem in relationships these days, and this script jumps right into the middle of the subject. The chemistry between Jones and Samberg is very believable, and they have the same quirk factor, so it's heartbreaking to watch their lives move in different directions when Samberg's beautiful one-night-stand-baby-mama shows up. The guy just can't do anything right. Then, he decides to do something right, and suddenly Jones' starts back walking and taking inventory of what's out there versus what she already had. Elijah Wood was a nice touch as Rashida's gay business partner. Ari Gaynor played a peach of a best friend. In fact, all the supporting actors were perfect in this romantic drama comedy that required rapid fire quips, flippancy, and gut wrenching truths, culminating in a tearful confrontation between the two main characters that brought me to tears with its heartbreaking authenticity.

Seems like Miss Jones is more than a pretty face, and Andy Samberg has range. If I had a criticism it would be that the film seemed primarily about Rashida's character, which made her character seem controlling and self absorbed. This made it a little harder to empathize with her character, however, she redeemed herself in the scene where she fell into and out of Samberg's trash can snooping, and got caught doing it. Hilarious. Chris Messina added a nice possibility.

A very enjoyable and entertaining film.

I gave this movie a 10 for the sake of balancing its score. It is a great movie about how love itself may not be enough to endure a relationship, how one's attitude can change everything and what can happen if emotions are taken for granted. The storyline is very realistic and relatable. I think it is more of a 500 Days of Summer type of romantic movie rather than a fairytale. The acting is also on point and Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg share a credible chemistry. In my opinion its score should be at least 7.5.

The short story: I liked this film. The longer story is I'm not sure exactly what you'd call this movie. Honestly I had never heard of it before finding it in the $5 bin, but I like Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg (the leads) and the premise seemed interesting, essentially a separated married couple who are still best friends and do everything together, it just didn't work out to be married. There are funny parts, but not enough to label it a comedy or rom-com, and certainly drama, but not enough to be considered dramatic. It's not even really a love story. And it's no action-packed special-effects-laden blockbuster. I guess what it is is a decent, down-to-earth story (from Hollywood - I KNOW) about real-type characters in realistic situations that viewers can relate to with a decent cast, even pacing and with a sensible ending. Definitely worth a look. 7/10

Celeste and Jesse Forever is a more honest look at breakups and divorce than most romantic dramedies of the last couple of years. The film had a lot of thoughtfulness to it, was delicately filmed and full of wit and raw emotion. The downside though is that it has an overly familiar formula that has been done to death now with films like The Break-Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Take This Waltz, Friends with Kids, etcetera. The film just gets lost in that ever-growing genre, even though it's quite the gem and probably the most relevant version of that specific formula I've seen lately.

The performances were genuine and charming, with an undeniable likable cast. Rashida Jones is becoming one of my favorite actresses of today, and I think Celeste and Jesse Forever is her true breakthrough performance. Rashida plays Celeste who is in the process of finalizing her divorce from her husband Jesse, who still lives with her and are oddly close friends still. Jesse, played with corky poise by Andy Samberg, soon starts dating to move on which thrills Celeste until his past fling pops up in his life again and reveals that she is pregnant. Celeste finds it harder than ever to move on and all she is feeling is regret.

I think the film's process of his or her struggle of moving on was naturally dealt with, as there is no Hollywood ending or overuse of sentimentality. The film in the end doesn't sugarcoat anything, which was a breath of fresh air in that aspect. The supporting cast was not half bad either and it's always great to watch Ari Graynor who plays Celeste's best friend Beth. Ari Graynor to me is a talented actress and it's about time she deserves a leading role and put an end to playing sidekicks.

Director, Lee Toland Krieger seems to be a personable director and connects with the audience in a timely matter. There were a couple of quiet, simple moments of poignancy and then balanced it with humor effortlessly. The use of songs fits this film like a glove and went with the flow. Writers and stars of the film Will McCormack and Rashida Jones should definitely collaborate again because the writing was just filled with honest humor and thoughtfulness, which created great energy for the film.

Overall, it's not a groundbreaking romantic comedy, but Rashida Jones is such a mesmerizing, witty and intelligent actress in this film that you will fall in love with it.