"Celeste and Jesse Forever": What the critics are saying
(CBS News) "Celeste and Jesse Forever" may turn out to be the rom-com of the summer, if audiences have the same reaction as critics.
The Rashida Jones-Andy Samberg romance, which opens today nationwide, has won over most of the nation's movie critics, garnering a 78 percent approval rating on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Many critics praised Jones, who co-wrote the movie as well as acted in it and more than a few remarked on the strong chemistry between the two co-stars.
Here is what a few of them had to say:
MANOHLA DARGIS of The New York Times: " With 'Celeste and Jesse Forever,' she (writer and star Rashida Jones) and Mr. McCormack (co-writer Will McCormack) have righted the sex imbalance of the bromance with a story about two people who, together and alone, express an ideal rarely seen in American movies: a man and woman whose equality is burnished in friendship, not just in bed and marriage."
OWEN GLEIBERMAN of EW.com "'Celeste and Jesse Forever' bounces along with nimble invention, from a photo montage that colors in an entire romantic history to the hilarious scene in which Celeste, increasingly jealous, gets caught going through Jesse's garbage can. I won't even hint at what happens, since the movie keeps taking us, like its characters, by surprise. I will say that it's been a while since a romantic comedy mustered this much charm by looking this much like life."
BETSEY SHARKEY of the Los Angeles Times: "The movie, though, ultimately rests on Jones' very slim shoulders. She is emerging as someone who does indeed have the chops to carry a film. As Celeste swings from gently letting Jesse down to throwing herself a pity party once she realizes he might actually be gone, Jones shows off that range nicely."
PETER TRAVERS of Rolling Stone: "As expected, Jones ('Parks and Recreation') and Samberg (a former 'SNL' VIP) nail every laugh. More surprisingly, they also play their characters for real, letting confusion and hurt seep in between the sillier setups.