Celeste
(Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) have known each since 10th
grade and we meet them when, after 6 years of marriage, they have
separated. They have always been best friends and still are to the point
that Beth (Ari Graynor) is so annoyed with them she runs out on the
pair and her fiance, Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen), when the 4 of them
are having dinner in a restaurant. Celeste and Jesse are separated but
it seems they are only in the sense that Jesse is living in the studio
behind their house.

Whatever
brought them together enough to get married is puzzling unless
opposites do attract. Celeste is a type A go-getter who is very
judgmental and doesn’t hesitate to express her opinion whether
appropriate or not and as one person says, “...that you think you are
smarter than everyone.”  Jesse is a man-child laid back artist, though
we never see him working, waiting for something to happen. As they are
heading for a mutually agreed upon divorce when Jesse is the first to go
out on a date Celeste doesn’t handle it very well, especially when she
and Jesse are in a bookstore and they bump into the woman, Veronica,
(Rebecca Dayan) who Celeste looks down upon.

Along
the way we meet Riley, (Emma Roberts) a young pop star Celeste is
‘branding’, Skiliz (Will McCormack, a drug dealer, who I admit I have no
idea what he is doing and/or saying in this movie and Paul (Chris
Messina) who goes to yoga classes to meet women and admits it. A not so
major character, Scott, (Elijah Wood) is a co-worker of Celeste and she
wants to make him her gay friend but both know that won’t work. By the
way there are a lot of gay references, unnecessary and some sophomoric.

The
screenplay was co-written by Ms Jones and Mr. McCormack which seems to
give the edge to Ms Jones as Celeste. There are too many fillers in the
script, which if exercised, like the off color joke shown twice, would
have made for a much tighter film. The director, Lee Toland Krieger, has
too many blurred scenes though does show L. A. in its upscale,
non-Hollywood lived in and working area. The music, by Sunny Levine and
Zach Cowie, add nothing to the film and at times distracts from it.

“Celeste
and Jesse Forever” starts off slowly but sets up what you think may be a
different approach to the question asked at the beginning of this
review, “Can a man and a woman just be friends?” Depending upon how you
feel about that question this film may or may not answer it but if you
are over 40 you may just shake your head.

******************************************************

HOW
TO SPEAK REPUBLICAN BY PETE KOTZ  "BAIN CAPITAL: MASSACHUSETTS
INVESTMENT FIRM CELEBRATED FOR PROVIDING INVESTORS WITH HUGE RETURNS BY
LAYING OFF THOUSANDS OF WORKERS, CUTTING HEALTH CARE BENEFITS, AND
SHIPPING JOBS TO THOSE PLACES WHERE FOREIGNERS LIVE. WILL SERVE AS THE
MODEL FOR U.S. ECONOMIC RECOVERY ONCE THE INFIDEL IS SMITED."