Movie Review: Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)
Meet Celeste and Jesse, childhood best friends turned husband and wife, turned ex-couple, turned we’re-better-off-as-back-to-being-best-friends.
Trust me, it’s a whirlwind to describe in writing, but even more so as a maelstrom in execution.
Most romantic movies centered on breakups usually focus on either of the two main questions: the “what would I do now without you” or “where did I go wrong” phases. Seldom, if ever, has a rom-com shed light on strange arrangements made by some people post-breakup. You know, the in-between, gray-area stage of just staying friends and connected despite the separation (or divorce), in the process giving awkwardness the middle finger.
Lee Toland Krieger’s “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” on the other hand, examines that thin line with delicate sensitivity. What we have, as a result, is one of the more underrated rom-com films in recent memory.
A Film That Centers on True Love Despite the Breakdown of Marriage
To be honest: The two married with hopes they’d stay together forever. It’s the usual naïve idealism we see both in movies and real life. And while it isn’t a bad thing, we know how such idealism can fade away when both realize they only signed up for the rose garden.
Following their separation owing to one’s controlling nature and the other’s lack of ambition, the forever-BFFs decide to stay friends despite their impending divorce. They go out and spend time every day and night, as if nothing life-changing happened between them. All of these unfold much to the chagrin of their other friends, who believe that both Celeste and Jesse still love each other. Heck, they even verbally express their love for one another, coupled with a cutesy “J-C” sign that resembles a playful cuddle.
But what if they still really love each other? One of them shoots this idea down right away, no matter how loud the actions speak. Eventually, the film uses the conventions of drama to indicate that one of the two screwed up the whole relationship before the other evened the score.
‘Celeste and Jesse’: Director Krieger’s Little Triumph
Imagine the lull of a stable union driving the other to take the whole relationship for granted. Is it too late for a reconciliation? Is there even a reconciliation on the table to begin with? Are pleas for second chances easy if you’re best friends with your partner? Are ‘official’ relationships more secure than those without labels?
Then again, isn’t that why people break up in the first place?
“Celeste and Jesse Forever,” in all its small scale, tries to answer all those questions. And frankly, that’s a tall order for an indie flick that tackles the more serious side of breakups. Here is a movie that isn’t supposed to work; or that could work only for a period of time and not be able to sustain its heart and warmth throughout its 90-minute runtime.
And yet, it does. Much of the credit goes to director Krieger and the main cast. But it also helps that the movie was co-written by the lead star herself, Rashida Jones, who gave the characters in the movie enough depth and believable emotions we can all relate to. Also, casting Andy Samberg as a slacker ex-husband with no tinge of maturity in sight is also a perfect choice; and Samberg here does little to no effort in the role that fits him seamlessly.
Granted, “Celeste and Jesse Forever” might have one of the corniest rom-com titles that I have ever come across. But boy, does it really know how to be sweet and charming and matured all at the same time. For all its earnest efforts to be incisive, it still comes as too conventional; but the chemistry of its leads and the depth of its characters give this rom-com a very-much-welcome boost of life.
