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'Going the Distance' proves not all can follow the Judd Apatow formula

Erin and Garrett have been separated for too long while working in different cities, so they decide to indulge in some phone sex.

But after thrashing out the embellished details of their fantasized tryst - car vs. elevator? - the two long-distance lovers finally cave to frustration.

"This isn't really working!" Erin confesses.

Neither is "Going the Distance," a romantic comedy surprisingly light on romance and fun, but heavy on the sort of randy vulgarity that falls way short of riotous humor.

Documentary film director Nanette "American Teen" Burstein directed "Going the Distance," and she follows the formula of producer/director Judd Apatow in his string of successful comedies ("Superbad," "The 40 Year Old Virgin," plus others).

Her movie proves it's not all that easy to duplicate Apatow's ability to find the right balance between empathetic characters and wince-inducing, gross-out gags.

Garrett (Justin Long) meets Erin (Drew Barrymore) at a video game in a New York bar soon after being dumped by his girlfriend. They chat. They flirt. They bond.

He works as an assistant in a record company. She serves as an intern with the fictional New York Sentinel newspaper.

With Erin scheduled to jet back to her San Francisco home in two weeks, Garrett proposes a long-distance relationship, and she accepts.

So, the couple embarks on a naive quest to date by Skype, until the impersonal grind takes its predictable toll on the two and forces them to reconsider their options.

Long and Barrymore project a relaxed, pleasing chemistry, but their characters need something closer to fireworks bursting in the air to convince us they've found someone special enough to stay connected across a nation.

They receive next-to-zero help from Geoff LaTulippe's snarky dialogue, which comes across arch and way too clever for Erin and Garrett to convince us they're ordinary people sincerely in love.

They sound more like sitcom writers or bumper sticker creators.

LaTulippe's over-reliance on the exclamation "Awesome!" is particularly annoying. So far, this film holds the 2010 record for using "awesome" seven times.

"Going the Distance" also suffers from tasteless, comically blunted running gags performed by a wasted supporting cast of talented comedians who discuss deviant sexual practices to diminishing humorous returns.

Christine Applegate plays Erin's married, germ-obsessed sister Corinne, who constantly trumpets the benefits of her chosen alternative to messy sex. (Awkward, but not as much as actually witnessing it later.)

Charlie Day, star of TV's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," plays the thankless role of Dan, one of Garrett's pals whose extended comic routine while conducting business on a toilet becomes embarrassingly uncomfortable.

"Saturday Night Live" star Jason Sudeikis skates along on sheer charm as Box, the most likable of Garrett's buds.

Comedies require snappy timing and quick exits from punch lines. "Going the Distance" lets the jokes cool on the screen like congealed linguine.

Perhaps Burstein's background as a documentary filmmaker - presenting unadorned, reality situations - didn't do her any favors when she directed "Going the Distance," a comedy where the snap crackles, pops and fizzles.

<p class="factboxheadblack">"Going the Distance"</p>

<p class="News">★★</p>

<p class="News"><b>Starring:</b> Justin Long, Drew Barrymore, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Charlie Day</p>

<p class="News"><b>Directed by:</b> Nanette Burstein</p>

<p class="News"><b>Other:</b> A Warner Bros. release. Rated R for drug use, language, nudity, sexual situations. 102 minutes</p>

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