Warner (USA)
2.40:1 1080p
103 minutes
Audio: DTS-HD MA English 5.1, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish, DD 5.1 Portuguese
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: audio commentary by Nanette Burstein; How to Have a Perfect Date; A Guide to Long-Distance Dating; The Cast of Going the Distance: Off the Cuff; deleted scenes; Behind the Scenes of the Soundtrack; The Boxer Rebellion’s “If You Run” music video; DVD version; Digital Copy

Released: 30 November 2010

Going the Distance is about a girl and a guy who decide to give the long-distance thing a try even though they’ve known each other for a short period of time. What follows is a non-stop barrage of very crude behavior, including omnipresent profanity, sexual references, and all manner of virtual and real copulation. The pairings are strictly heterosexual, of course, so no worries, no matter how crass the material gets, the movie is “safe” for Middle America, right?

Watching a movie like Going the Distance fills me with immense sadness. Drew Barrymore is not only likable, she’s adorable. Justin Long can be a cool dude, as apparent in Live Free or Die Hard. Despite her long-running role as Kelly Bundy on Married…With Children, Christina Applegate projects an endearing sweetness. What compelled them to appear in this disaster?

The characters put on aggressive displays of public affection or simply behave as if all notions of modesty disappeared overnight. Yet, they’re shocked–shocked!–when their friends talk about what they’ve been doing in plain sight anyway? Huh?

As far as “raunchy” comedies go, Going the Distance is far from the over-the-top-ness celebrated by movies like The Hangover. Yet, Going the Distance is not credible, believable, or realistic in any way. After all, the characters aren’t totally devoid of intelligence or an awareness of “the good life”. This is what makes these kinds of movies so dis-honest–they want to eat their cake and have it, too. I’m sorry, I’m not buying it.

Video:
The 2.40:1 1080p image offers a flat, muted experience. There are occasional bursts of strong colors. However, grays are very prevalent, from the costumes and sets to just the overall color balance of the photography. Also, as is common with rom-coms, the movie has a soft look at times.

Audio:
As with the mixes for so many other rom-coms, this DTS-HD MA 5.1 English track is front-heavy with occasional wisps of environmental or music cues popping out of the rear channels. Otherwise, there is mild stereo separation across the front for a few songs. Most of the action takes place in the front center channel courtesy of dialogue. One should not be critical of this sort of mix–it suits the material just fine.

Extras:
First up is an audio commentary by Nanette Burstein. Ms. Burstein sometimes resorts to narrating the on-screen action, and she has less and less to say as the movie progresses.

In “How to Have a Perfect Date” and “A Guide to Long-Distance Dating”, members of the cast and crew talk about dating and relationships.

“The Cast of Going the Distance: Off the Cuff” features improv moments that did not make it into the final cut. Additionally, there are a few mildly-amusing deleted scenes.

Finally, you get an extended promo of the soundtrack and The Boxer Rebellion’s “If You Run” music video.

–Miscellaneous–
You also get a DVD version, a Digital Copy, and a cardboard slipcover.