Debuting at Sundance to wonderful reviews, Rashida Jones (The Social Network, The Muppets) and Andy Samberg (Hot Rod, SNL) take the lead in Celeste and Jesse Forever, one of the most promising drama/comedies of the year.
Our man in the States loved it at Sundance – you can read his five-star review here – and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.
We caught the brilliant first trailer for it last month, followed by a handful of new images two weeks ago, and now Yahoo Movies have released the first three clips ahead of its US bow early next month.
“Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, Celeste is the driven owner of her own media consulting firm, Jesse is once again unemployed and in no particular rush to do anything with his life.
Celeste is convinced that divorcing Jesse is the right thing to do — she is on her way up, he is on his way nowhere, and if they do it now instead of later, they can remain supportive friends. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he is still in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realizes she has been cavalier about their relationship, and her decision, which once seemed mature and progressive, now seems impulsive and selfish. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. While navigating the turbulent changes in their lives and in their hearts, these two learn that in order to truly love someone, you may have to let them go.
The film is a humorous and honest examination of a broken heart and the long, hard road it takes to heal it.”
Co-starring Emma Roberts, Elijah Wood, Ari Graynor, Will McCormack, and Chris Messina, the film has Lee Toland Krieger behind the camera, directing from a script co-written by long-time friends Jones and McCormack.
Celeste and Jesse Forever will be released in LA and New York on 3rd August, with Sony Classics opening it for a wider release in successive weeks. No word yet on a UK release, but I remain hopeful, because this is a film I would absolutely love to see on the big screen. Here are three excellent reasons why.
