Review of Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012) by Spencer S — 20 Dec 2012

Certainly not formulaic, or ably put into a specific genre (whether romantic comedy, dramedy, or a variation) "Celeste and Jesse Forever" is quite possibly one of the best romantic films of the year, and surely one of the funniest.

Starring and written by Rashida Jones and writing partner Will McCormack, this film is date night perfection, heartbreaking and yet so hilarious and real, it's a far cry from the trailer which heralded it as a romantic slosh through the lives of a married couple unable to let go.

Most of the time it's about Celeste, navigating the horrible journey from repressed divorcee and best friend to her ex, to broken woman, and finally finding herself outside of her past, outside of her own mistakes.

The characters are all vaguely if not intrinsically interesting, and the humor ranges from bro comedy and gross out humor at times to black comedy surrounding the embarrassing escapades Celeste gets herself into.

There is certainly art, there's a broad approach to character development, and an actual respect for what the characters need to do to accomplish their goals. There's never a time when the plot wins out and makes the characters do things uncharacteristic of what we've seen so far.

The shots of the city are majestic, sallow, wide and approachable, as if we're there in Los Angeles and Boston. Some of the outside characters do come off as rather unnecessary at times. Skillz, who is portrayed by screenwriter Will McCormack, only exists to tie together the estranged couple and add his own bits of insight into Jesse's challenges over getting over his ex-wife.

Riley, played by Emma Roberts, is a pop star who is represented by Celeste's firm, and is the only reminder to the film that this is a romantic comedy. She's so formulaic and annoying as the insightful and yet so young protégé with a filthy mouth of her own, that it's strange that she exists.

She could disappear and nothing would change. Seriously, a must see for the year, because though you may dislike the genre, this certainly transcends it, difficult especially for an indie movie.