‘Celeste and Jesse Forever’ is a small film that I thoroughly enjoyed. It deals with modern marriage in probably the most mature way that I have seen in recent memory. It’s a contradiction as the characters are humorous, yet the film has a bittersweet sadness to it. Celeste (Rachida Jones [daughter of Quincy Jones, but an up and coming artist in her own right]) and Jesse (an uncharacteristic dramatic role for Andy Samberg) are two high school sweethearts who have known each other their whole lives. They married young and have grown apart. Celeste wants a baby and doesn’t think Jesse is grown up enough to be a father. Now at the age of 30 they decide divorce is the best way to go, yet they are determined to keep their friendship. It’s not as easy as they thought it would be as they are so ingrained in their lifestyle that nothing really changes with their separation.
Each encourages the other to go out and find someone else, but nothing compares with the fun they have together. Each is frustrated with the other, but at the same time you can sense their affection. Celeste is having moderate success in her career, but is frustrated by Jesse’s slacker ways. She wants someone whom she considers will grow with her. Jesse doesn’t really want to move on, but knows he isn’t making Celeste happy. For 6 months, he has been living in the studio garage behind the house and the dynamic with each other never changes. They give each other a peck every night before they go their separate ways and say ‘I love you’ as if the separation never happened.
Celeste goes out on numerous dates at the encouragement of her gay best friend Scott (a subtle yet hilarious performance by Elijah Wood). Each date is more disastrous than the last and at the end of each she returns to Jesse for support. It’s a nice arrangement for Celeste and interesting to see how the man that causes her so much frustration is the man she finds the most comforting.
Celeste likes this as she feels in control, but Jesse surprises her that he has met someone new. Celeste has confused feelings as she always thought she would be the one to move on first. She’s not sure whether it’s her ego, or jealously, or just insecurity about the one constant in her life seeming to slip away. Jesse is confused as well as he still loves Celeste, but cannot deny his new feelings for a Belgian woman named Shira (interestingly enough Shira Lazar playing herself). In a typical romantic comedy, Shira would be the villain and all sorts of caddy situations would follow that would reveal how evil Shira would be and the original two love birds would realize they were meant for each other. Not the case here. Shira is beautiful, sweet, elegant, and impossible to hate.
Rashida Jones is known for her comedic acting (The Office, Parks and Recreation), but as she knows she is losing Jesse, the wide array of emotions she is able to portray with just facial expressions is amazing to watch. She has a talent that I would compare to Steve Carrell where she can portray humor and pain simultaneously with her expressions. I’m glad to see her making a name for herself on her own merits. In fact, she co-wrote this film, so she is not just some vacant actor. She has ability and depth. I can’t wait to see what else she can do. Andy Samberg also shows he is more than just a sketch comic on Saturday Night Live. While I wasn’t as impressed with his performance as I was with Rashida’s, it was definitely respectable and it shows he will have options going forward in his movie career.
I’ve read a lot of reviews that compares this to ‘When Harry Met Sally’ as they both question whether men and woman can truly be friends. I didn’t find this to be true, as ‘When Harry Met Sally’ struck me as a fairy tale of what women wanted to happen (a friendship turning into a romance). This film struck me as closer to the reality with no neat and happy bowtie at the end of the story. It was a mature and interesting examination of the complexities of relationships. It was a small film, but that made me enjoy it all the more.
I give this film *** 1/2 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment