Celeste and Jesse Forever

Last weekend I saw "Celeste and Jesse Forever," the new post-romance comedy/drama directed by Lee Toland Krieger, starring Rashida Jones (who also co-wrote the film) and Andy Samberg as the titular married couple. The movie begins six months after Celeste (Jones) and Jesse (Samberg) decide to separate, yet they still hang out everyday, referring to each other as best friends, much to the annoyance of some friends. After Jesse meets someone new, Celeste starts to have regrets about her decision to divorce and goes through a depression regarding her romantic life.

I liked Jones here and I have enjoyed her when she played the straight-woman roles on "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation." It was nice seeing Jones perform a character who is more distressed, showing off the potential of an acting range that we could hopefully see in future films. I liked Samberg in the movie, though his role as Jesse required less range (the movie is more about Celeste) but he was very good and funny in a charming way. The two leads have good chemistry, and it is possible to see that these two people could have been together at some point. Emma Roberts helped add some conflict to the movie as an insecure pop star that Celeste is forced to work with, despite disliking her for her music.

The writing was decent and I would like to see more things from the writing team of Jones and Will McCormack. Krieger, who I am not familiar with, seems like a director who might have potential; one scene that sticks to memory is when Celeste's is on the verge of tears that might shows of Krieger's skill. The way he changes the camera's focus shows the intensity that Celeste feels.
I know that I am really praising this movie, however I would not say this is a must see or for everyone. If you have an hour and a half to kill and you are in the Commons, it's not a bad time waster.