Canadian Pie

It used to be that having National Lampoon in the title meant comedy gold. Two of the greatest comedies of all time, ANIMAL HOUSE and VACATION carried the National Lampoon banner. Throughout the 90s, National Lampoon continued to lend its name to such classics as SENIOR TRIP and LOADED WEAPON 1. For a while, it seemed like the greatness of the National Lampoon name would never die, especially after 2002's VAN WILDER, the closest college comedy to ANIMAL HOUSE since REVENGE OF THE NERDS. Then in 2003, the Lampoon name was scarred with THANKSGIVING FAMILY REUNION, a bad TV movie that premiered on TBS. That same year the Lampoon took another blow with the mediocre NATIONAL LAMPOON PRESENTS DORM DAZE. Now with GOING THE DISTANCE, the downfall of National Lampoon continues.

GOING THE DISTANCE isn't even an American made movie. It's a Canadian ROAD TRIP clone that has nothing to do with the National Lampoon name. The only slightest Lampoon element was the whole guy-trying-to-ruin trip subplot was also done in SENIOR TRIP, but at least there it was funny. Here, it's the weakest part of the movie. It just doesn't work. In fact, 50% of the jokes in GOING THE DISTANCE don't work, which is rather unfortunate since the film had potential. I dug the first few opening scenes and thought that the film could end up being worthy of the National Lampoon name. However, after fifteen minutes had gone by, I realized this was sadly yet another direct-to-video dud. There were a few good laughs and Joanne Kelly was quite cute, but that wasn't enough to save this flick. 4/10

If you have watched as many Canadian movies I have over the years, you have probably learned to avoid them, at least if they are ones that have received funding from the government. However, when I learned that this one was aimed at a wider-than-usual audience than usual (instead of being just made for the filmmaker, his friends, and the art-loving government), plus the fact that I was able to see it for free (no way I am spending money on a Canadian government-funded movie!), I decided to give it a chance.

There are some positive things I can say about this Canadian movie. The scenery is breathtaking at times. This movie not only has a pleasant backdrop, it makes the movie seem more fresh. The production values, though low budget, are a step up from most Canadian films. Also, the characters are (for the most part), a more likable bunch of characters than what you usually get for a youth-oriented comedy. This probably also explains why the movie seems less crude than the usual youth-oriented comedies you see.

But overall, the movie didn't work. The main reason for that is pretty simple - the movie isn't very funny. Most of the gags are predictable and tired, with no imagination to them despite the enthusiastic cast that performs them. Another fault of the movie is that the main character (for reasons that I won't spoil) becomes somewhat less sympathetic in the last quarter of the movie.

Still, this movie is a step up for Canadian film-making. Let's hope it inspires other Canadian filmmakers (as well as the Canadian government) to make movies with an AUDIENCE in mind, instead of the usual arty crap that NOBODY wants to see (either in Canada or elsewhere).

(P.S. - This movie actually played on prime time television in Canada with all the nudity, language, and sex-related material intact, and NOBODY complained! The American TV censors could learn something from this.)

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone but if you like movies like American Pie (and I mean all of them 2 and 3 were pretty hurtin) then you'd definitely like this movie. I think this movie is as good as the American Pie sequels and they both rate a 6.3 so I think this movie deserves better then a 5.2. I rated it a 7 but that's probably due in part to the fact that this is a Candian film. I don't think it is a bad thing for the Canadian film industry to be making commercial films like this one. Every film that comes out of canada doesn't have to be an art film. Even though I love Canadian art films. Only a diverse Canadian film industry can grow. So go watch it and expect a lot of dick and fart jokes.

Going the Distance was amazingly cute. I kept expecting it to go tragically corny and predictable, and it did... But it did it in such a fresh and funny way I'd watch it again.

I did enjoy the Canadian angle, that they never diluted, or make a joke of being Canadian. And they kept me entertained throughout, even if there were only 1 or 2 flat out laughs. Everything was funny, and the few jokes that were over the top were in great context

Plus, the cameos were amazing. How they got great names to play bit parts in a straight to DVD movie was pretty cool.

It's not a must see. But it is something you should see.

My friends and I were torn between Without a Paddle with the many known actors and Going the Distance a Canadian production with few people that we could identify. We decided that, being Canadian, we should give the Canadian movie our support. I need to say that we were not disappointed! Going the Distance had so much that is necessary to a great "teen" movie: fun, laughs, love, sex, drugs, alcohol and extreme behaviors. The movie showed us beautiful and some familiar locations, such as the Much Music Corner in Toronto. It is great to see that everything about the movie was Canadian and it showed people that we do not need to go to Europe for a summer trip and that there is fun to be had in Canada! "Eh!?"