Celeste and Jesse Forever

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)
Directed by: Lee Toland Kreiger
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%

I had a flight up to Ohio this week so I was in need of inflight entertainment. As I browsed through iTunes several titles jumped out at me. I eventually settled on Celeste and Jesse Forever. I love Rashida Jones and Andy Samburg makes me laugh so I took a chance on a movie I had never seen advertisements for. The script was penned by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (who plays a supporting role in the film). I believe that this was Jones' first turn at writing and she pulled off an incredibly likable film.

Celeste (Jones) and Jesse (Samburg) were high school sweethearts. They fell in love and married young. The opening credits take us through their life up until now. They are happy; they are in love. The film starts with Celeste and Jesse singing along to the radio while driving in downtown Los Angeles. As they sing in obnoxious voices, Celeste's phone rings. She asks Jesse to be quiet and quickly shifts to business mode. As she discusses work with the person on the phone, Jesse starts to fidget and takes out a cigarette to smoke. Celeste asks for a drag, puts down her window, and tosses the cigarette out the window. She hangs up and complains that Jesse refuses to grow up. The two arrive at home and everything is peachy. The next day the two are having dinner with their friends Beth (Ari Graynor) and Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen). Everything seems to be going well until Beth flips out about how the relationship that Celeste and Jesse have. It is at this point the audience is told that Celeste and Jesse are actually separated and are getting a divorce, but they continue to share a car, home, and life together. Until this point, neither Celeste nor Jesse saw a problem with their living situation. It isn't until their friends start making comments about the unusual situation that the two decide to really set their divorce in stone. Celeste's business partner, Scott (Elijah Wood), tells her that she needs to start seeing other people while Jesse's friend, Skillz (McCormack), sets Jesse up with a yogurt shop girl. Celeste is hesitant at first but changes her tune when she realizes that Jesse has begun to date. The film explores what love means and how different people react to it. It questions what we know as proper break up etiquette and it also flips the Rom-Com genre on its head. Also, at one point, Jesse and Skillz go to a Biz Markie concert (because he's still completely relevant)



What I like so much about Celeste and Jesse Forever is that it is an unusual story. Typically, the male is the one pining for his lost love. He is the one that is going through lengths to prove that they belong together. The roles are reversed in this film. Celeste wants to be over Jesse but she can't. He evened her out. Celeste's intense A Type personality puts a lot of people off. She is a detriment to her own relationships. Jesse was able to counteract that. With out him, she doesn't know when to reign herself in. Jesse, on the other hand, has found someone that makes him better. Someone that challenges him without ridicule. Jesse feels a love for Veronica (Rebecca Dayan), his new fiancé, but knows that he'll always have an emotional connection with Celeste. This was a great venture into drama for Samburg and I hope he continues to venture into this uncharted territory, because he does a great job with it.

No BS

Celeste and Jesse Forever is a film about love and love lost. Your emotions will run the gamut during the course of the film. There is quite a bit of foul language but I don't feel it detracts from the story. It also provides a rare chance to see Andy Samburg actually act. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have written a great story and I think it is worth checking out.

My Score: 7/10