Long shot

Who'd have thought that that geeky kid from Jeepers Creepers (who also played the geeky kid in Dodgeball) would end up as a romantic lead?


Well, in all honesty, me, actually. And Justin Long rewards my insane prediction in romcom Going the Distance.


Let's be clear up-front: this is not A Great Movie. It is unlikely ever to appear in the British Film Institute list of the greatest 100 films of all time (though it might appear in the AFI's list, what with their weird standards and eccentric choices. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything).


No, it's not a Classic Film. But it is sweet and engaging and funny.


This is in no small measure due to Justin, who is shaping up nicely as one of the finest physical comedians of his generation -- a sort of modern-day Buster Keaton.


At the root of a lot of his humour is the straight guy's terror of homosexual (or homosocial) intimacy. I don't take this as any comment on any intrinsic inadequacy on my part, more as a reflection on his own inadequacies.


Indeed, as is demonstrated time and again in the film, straight guys are as utterly clueless about straight women as they are about gay men and, as often as not, as they are about themselves.


Justin very kindly gets his arse out in this film, and a truly delightful arse it is, all pert and rounded. He also displays what appears to be a sprouting bushy pubiary of some magnificence though, in the spray tan scene, it's difficult to concentrate on such things because of the urgent and overwhelming need to laugh.


I understand the director shot a full-frontal, too, but edited it out of the movie.

The Evil Harpie.

I am just praying it appears on the DVD, so I can continue my long-term programme of lusting after Justin.