Review of Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012) by Hugo S — 04 Sep 2012

What a pleasure this film was! At times hysterically funny, at others heart-wrenchingly sad, Celeste and Jesse Forever always holds the attention of the viewer and takes them on an endearing journey with its characters.

The plot of the movie revolves around the title characters, played by Rashida Jones (who also co-wrote the script) and Andy Samberg. Celeste and Jesse are best friends who happen to be going through a divorce.

Much to the bewilderment of their friends, Jesse and Celeste still hang out with each other every day, and still live on the same property. Although they try to maintain their friendship, the inevitable complications, confrontations and heartbreak ensue.

This interesting plot device for development of the characters is unveiled to the viewer in a really neat way: at the beginning of the movie, after a montage of Jesse and Celesteâ(TM)s life together, the action picks up on a regular day with the two.

Later that night, they are having dinner with their friends when the friends go off on a rant about how they should not be ignoring their impending divorce. Up until this point, the audience has been under the assumption that the two were still happily married, an assumption which was supported by the chemistry of the actors.

After throwing the audience expectations around like this, the plot takes on a more investing curve for them. Will Jesse and Celeste end up together by the end of the movie? Will they move on with their divorce and their lives? This movie, supported by a stellar cast, intimate cinematography, an expressive score, and a hilarious and endearing script, crafts what ends up being a wonderfully relatable and effective love story.

Celeste and Jesse is a special gem of a movie that will leave the viewer quite glad that they took a chance on it.