Celeste and Jesse Forever is a film centered on the all to real concept of moving on, whether it be with someone or apart from someone you were once close with. Stand out actors Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg give an all star performance, when earlier I believed them to be actors solely focused on comedy (ie: Samberg on SNL, Hot Rod, and That’s My Boy and Jones on Parks and Recreation and I Love You Man.) The film kickstarts with Celeste (Jones) and Jesse (Samberg) in a car, driving around the city of Los Angeles. They’re best friends, and their connection is truly palpable. From the pair feeling up a chapstick with crude language, to making fun of their friends’ uncomfortable behaviour as a reaction to their maintained closeness, Celeste and Jesse should very well be together forever. But that’s the great part of this film, just because a couple has great chemistry, and love each other very much, does not necessarily mean that they are right for one another. The film hits the high points of marrying your best friend (told through a montage at the beginning of the film) to the low point of physically being unable to let someone go. Normally when relationships (or even marriages) end, the pair do not part amicably and bitter words are spoken, however, this film spins the cliche of the bitter breakup and tells the wholly unique story of a couple that though they are right for each other, they are not meant for one another. The pair must come to terms with the reality that though they refuse to lose what they once had, there is no denying that their relationship is forever changed. Rather than trying the true “coming of age” story, Celeste and Jesse must come to terms with a future where they are undeniably no longer together.
Motto of the Film: Heartache’s a bitch, and letting go is never easy.
Highs of the Film:
- Samberg playing a wholly serious character (it’s fantastic really!)
- Ari Graynor’s bluntness when calling out Celeste and Jesse for their casual relationship (Graynor in general, think Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist “I saw Jesus!”)
- Emma Robert’s portrayal of a musical artist who looks and acts uncannily like pop sensation Ke$ha
- Chris Pine’s random cameo as the creepy alcoholic at the game no one knew
- Elijah Wood’s attempts to acting as the sassy gay friend
Indie Fix 