LITERALLY, RIGHT BEFORE AARON: An Impressive Romantic Comedy Debut

Justin Long is no stranger to romantic comedy. It’s fair to say though, that his previous outings in the genre have had either a mixed, or negative reception. It’s not his fault; he’s always been a likeable presence, with excellent comedic timing. But between A Case Of You, Going The Distance, He’s Just Not That In To You, and Taking Chances, he’s struggled to pick projects that excite audiences and critics alike, or stay in the public imagination any longer than their theatrical run. Literally, Right Before Aaron might just reverse this unfortunate trend.

Literally, Right Before Aaron

Adam (Justin Long), gets a phone call from Allison (Cobie Smulders), his ex, inviting him to her wedding. Though he agrees to attend, the decision sends him into a complete tailspin, causing him to break up with his current girlfriend. He heads to San Francisco for the wedding, and gets embroiled in a host of awkward and embarrassing situations, all the while hoping that Allison will change her mind, and go back to him.  As the wedding grows closer, and Allison shows no sign of calling it off, Adam realises the time has come for him to confront his feelings. For better or worse.

Ryan Eggold: Triple Threat

Adapted from his own short, Literally Right Before Aaron is Ryan Eggold’s feature film directorial debut. And it isn’t just directing duties that he takes on for the movie; he also wrote the screenplay, and was jointly responsible for the film’s music. Eggold is a man of many talents.

With a complex balance between romance, comedy, and drama, Eggold stops the varying tones from ever becoming too muddled. The film is a romantic comedy, and there are plenty of instances of broad physical humour, yet they sit comfortably alongside the more serious, tender moments. The laughs never take away from the film’s raw emotional core, which is an accomplishment of both writing and directing.

When Adam is reminiscing about his life with Allison, we see him zone out, and then enter what is going on through his mind via a score that bursts with buzzing violins. The actual ‘romance’ in this romantic comedy is confined to these flashbacks. With copious chemistry between Long and Smulders, and the repartee being almost screwball in its rapid-fire back and forth, these scenes do not disappoint. And Eggold saves his best for last. But I’ll discuss the film’s final scene later.

Full Of Stars

Though Literally, Right Before Aaron marks Eggold‘s directorial debut, he has filled it with cameos from established actors who provide the film with many of the most funny and poignant moments. There are plenty of hilarious turns. Peter Gallagher plays Adam’s boss, the bellicose, and brilliantly named naturalist Orson Schwartzman.

John Cho, as Adam’s best friend Mark, spends most of his screen time on the other side of a webcam, and yet still contributes some of the biggest laughs. The others mainly come from Kristen Schaal as Talula, Adam’s ‘eccentric’ date for the wedding. Schaal gets cast as the ‘crazy lady’ a lot, and as a fan of her work, it can be a little frustrating. However, she does always bring something new to her underwritten roles, and she does it again here.

On the more poignant side, there’s Dana Delany, who plays Allison’s mom. She radiates sympathy for the struggling Aaron, admitting that she hoped her daughter would end up with him. Her appearance is a nice little moment, showing that the acknowledgement of pain can be a real comfort. Unfortunately it isn’t long before she is called away, leaving Adam alone once more.

Having so many cameos could run the risk of being distracting, but in Literally, Right Before Aaron it just means that Adam’s life is populated by a convincingly large cast of people. As their appearances are fleeting, the actors don’t have much time to establish their characters, but pros as talented as Delany and Cho don’t need it. You can add casting to the long list of things this film does exceptionally well.

Awkward, But Real

Besides the host of talented comedy actors that make up the cast of Literally, Right Before Aaron, most of the humour stems from the uncomfortable, often humiliating nature of Adam’s situation. This isn’t new – romantic comedies have always got their laughs from uncomfortable situations. All comedies have, as a matter of fact! But the place this film ends up in, and its perfect final scene, mark it out as a more grown-up film than many of its contemporaries.

Adam, attending the wedding of his girlfriend of eight years as a guest and not the groom, is in a position that would be difficult for anyone. Most people would probably have declined the invitation. He is not only determined to go, but to go and pretend that there is nothing unusual going on. His desperate attempt at nonchalance leads him again and again to embarrassment; playing a game of tennis with Allison’s near-professional fiancé; acting so blasé about Allison’s wedding that he pretends to not remember who she is, much to the bemusement of his old friend, who knew them as a couple.

Though these situations do lead to some wacky results, the fact that they all stem from Adam’s ill-advised attempts to pretend he’s doing fine keep the film painfully relatable. Some of the funniest moments occur when Eggold’s script really twists the knife in regards to the perfection of Allison’s new fiancé. At the wedding, when he is showing off the cake he learned how to bake from the finest chefs in France, an enamoured fellow guest declares, “He can do anything!” It’s no wonder that it’s soon afterwards that Adam decides he’s had enough of keeping all his emotions bottled up inside.

This all gives rise to the aforementioned perfect final scene, which dares to raise the spectre of The Graduate – and earns it. The wordless sequence begins ridiculously, and finishes with a little gut-wrenching moment that recognises the imperfect nature of our hearts and our wants, and how much doing the right thing can really sting. It’s an accomplished, beautiful sequence, and it bodes well for the directing future of Ryan Eggold.

Conclusion

At one of the many awkward gatherings that Adam attends, a guest gives him a toast; “To the strength of the human spirit to endure!”. It’s meant as a joke, but the toast hits on what make Literally, Right Before Aaron a step above other recent romantic comedies. Enduring awkward social gatherings, where everyone knows your history but has to act like they don’t, is a tough thing to do.

Dealing with the new relationship of someone you once loved is even tougher. But the film acknowledges that these are situations that must be confronted, and endured, however much it hurts. There’s a quiet heroism in that endurance. If this makes the film sound like hard work, I don’t mean it to. Literally, Right Before Aaron is full of laughter and romance, with an impressively star-studded cast. It’s that recognition of the pain of enduring, however, that will keep it stuck in your head for days to come.

Have you seen Literally, Right Before Aaron? What did you think?

Literally, Right Before Aaron is released in the US on September 29th. For the release date in your country click here.