Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012)

Jesse and Celeste subconsciously fight to stay the same people the whole film as they make efforts to change. It's heartbreaking in the best way possible. I actually wanted a little more even though it was somewhat slow paced.

The short story: I liked this film. The longer story is I'm not sure exactly what you'd call this movie. Honestly I had never heard of it before finding it in the $5 bin, but I like Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg (the leads) and the premise seemed interesting, essentially a separated married couple who are still best friends and do everything together, it just didn't work out to be married. There are funny parts, but not enough to label it a comedy or rom-com, and certainly drama, but not enough to be considered dramatic. It's not even really a love story. And it's no action-packed special-effects-laden blockbuster. I guess what it is is a decent, down-to-earth story (from Hollywood - I KNOW) about real-type characters in realistic situations that viewers can relate to with a decent cast, even pacing and with a sensible ending. Definitely worth a look. 7/10

This movie is stupid. It's about a couple who have been together since they were young. They got married and are now in the midst of a separation. Celeste has grown and has become successful, while Jesse stays immature and more or less rides her coat tail. He never grows up and thinks it's more important to go surfing than look for a job. They obviously grow apart. The sad thing about it is they both start acting stupid. Instead of distancing themselves from each other to allow the divorce to sink in, they insist on hanging out together as if they were best buds. Celeste is acting like the enabler by throwing him freelance work and letting him live in the studio behind her house. Skip ahead into the movie..... Jesse has a short fling with a woman who ends up pregnant. All of a sudden he grows up and wants to make things work with the new woman who he's know for all of five minutes, while at the same time throwing mixed signals to Celeste as if he wants her back. Celeste breaks down and realizes she made a mistake and wants him back. This whole movie was painful to watch. Especially the part where Celeste starts acting desperate. The part that irritates me is the fact that it try's to make Celeste look like the person who has all of the issues and Jesse look like the innocent who has been wronged and deserves this second chance at life. Typical misogynist movie.

. . . to rise to the level of a great "RomCom," such as ANNIE HALL. Even if you restrict comparisons to the sub-genre of "Sweet & Sour RomComs," CELESTE & JESSE cannot touch (500) DAYS OF SUMM3R, primarily because there is little chemistry or plausibility at any point between the title characters, played by Rashida Jones (who also co-wrote this flick) and Andy Samberg. While Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas were able to add some pizazz to their break-up movie--THE WAR OF THE ROSES--through trapeze work on the family chandelier, there is no evidence of any CGI efforts to enhance CELESTE & JESSE FOREVER. For people who watch fictional shows on television, perhaps this dud would be their cup of tea, as I understand one or both of the leads is experienced and known on the small screen medium. (I learned this fact from a newspaper story I read AFTER seeing CELESTE & JESSE in the multiplex.) However, those expecting the acting, writing, and humor quality of the Julie Delpy-Ethan Hawke SUNSET trilogy from CELESTE & JESSE will be in for a grim disappointment here. Movie goers should NOT be required to memorize the name of EVERY minor league TV personality in order NOT to be sucked in to wasting their admission money on something equivalent to a 1970s VHS tape projected onto the $10-a-ticket big screen. There MUST be an asterisk and accompanying disclaimer for offerings such as CELESTE & JESSE, saying something like "If you want to spend 90 minutes with material below the quality of a rejected TV sitcom pilot without a laugh track, then go ahead and pay for this movie; otherwise, STAY AWAY!"