Everything is coming up Charlie Day, and let’s be honest, it’s about time. The brilliant comic actor has been turning in consistently awesome work since before It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia began its unstoppable run in 2005. Every time he graces the screen he reveals another talent that makes it impossible not to love him. Whether he’s playing the Super Mario Bros. theme music on a melodica, starring alongside his real wife in an Australian singer-songwriter’s music video, or clamoring to build a spaceship, he’s always entertaining us. Now that he’s got the number-one movie of 2023 and his writer/director debut in Fool’s Paradise, it’s time to seek out an unsung classic that you might’ve missed: 2010’s Going the Distance.
One would be forgiven for assuming that Charlie Day arrived fully formed in the first season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia back in 2005, but the truth is he got his start where every actor worth their salt has spawned in the last 30 years, and that is, of course, a little television show called Law & Order. Yes, our beloved little weird man appears in Season 11, Episode 15, titled “Swept Away: A Very Special Episode.” From there, he joined Danny Devito’s FX circus alongside Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Sweet Dee, herself, Kaitlin Olson. Day was the obvious breakout, and Hollywood came calling with his first big-screen marquee title Going the Distance, which would bring him into orbit with one of his best co-stars.
Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day Are a Dynamic Duo
Going the Distance is a fairly formulaic rom-com with two established leads that know their way around the trope in Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. While both handle very snappy dialogue with ease and play characters that are effortlessly lovable, it’s the supporting cast that really makes this film shine. For Barrymore’s Erin, we’ve given her over-protective sister Corrine, played by the consistently awesome Christina Applegate, and her milquetoast husband Phil, played with affable charm by Jim Gaffigan. Squaring off this quartet is Long’s Garrett’s buddies, a fortuitous pairing of Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day. The chemistry between Box and Dan is pure-spun gold, something the two would recreate regularly throughout their career. Even now, Sudeikis has a supporting role in Day’s writer/director debut Fool’s Paradise. This echoes their pairing in Horrible Bosses 1 & 2, and even their delightful collision in Saturday Night Live’s Season 37, Episode 5 with the obvious highlight “Crime Scene.”
Sudeikis has since become a household staple with his Ted Lasso character, a refreshing Apple TV offering that showcases characters that are actively trying to better themselves in contrast to the HBOMax formula of detestable characters getting progressively worse. Day, for his part, has consistently played an affable version of himself, as he does in this film. As he famously said in response to finding his Luigi voice for the Super Mario Bros. movie, “I have a hard time NOT sounding like a cartoon character.” Dan in Going the Distance is something of a living cartoon, and his interactions with Box and Garrett allow him to steer full-skid into this persona. From “DJing his hookup” to oversharing with an elderly stranger about his roommate’s angry “cracking off” to inadvertently rocking a Hitler ‘stache, Day’s Daniel is casually crass and comfortably quirky. Viewers are captivated by his earnest delivery, simultaneously larger-than-life and wholly relatable all at once. Day’s characters do things we can’t imagine happening in real life although we all know someone who’s performed at least one of those crazy antics. Crazier still is when Day’s Daniel sounds off as the unlikely voice of reason in the third act, spurring Garrett to be the best version of himself.
The Deleted Scenes of 'Going the Distance' Are the Best Ones
While Going the Distance has some wonderful scenes with the three principal male leads (when Sudeikis’ Box grows tired of Long’s Garrett’s attachment to his cell phone, he pings it off a golf range with a driver), the best scenes didn’t even make the final cut. In a third-act commiseration scene with Long, Sudeikis, and Day, a lengthy and horribly inappropriate conversation takes place about Garrett’s emotional state and the possible status of his highly-coveted New York City apartment bedroom, complete with a window. The scene goes on far too long, and it’s no wonder why it was cut, but the back-and-forth between Sudeikis and Day offers a lifetime of binge-worthy call-and-response from the talented actors. Better yet is an alternate cut wherein Day has a one-sided conversation with a canceled sex worker that has his co-star visibly laughing as the improvisation carries forward.
A later deleted scene finds the crew in a swanky nondescript New York City discotheque which they describe as a “Russian Mob hangout," complete with a frozen Ice Room for patrons to imbibe as much Vodka as one can in two minutes in sub-zero temperatures (think Minus5 in Las Vegas). While the scene looks terrifically expensive yet scarcely moves the story forward, one can marvel at the rapid-fire dialogue throughout and, once again, Day’s presence as something of an otherworldly voice of reason. Not to mention Barrymore’s establishment as a total badass, something that Day emphatically stated during production.
'Going the Distance' Has a Stacked Cast
While continually blowing the trumpet of Day, Sudeikis, Long, Applegate, Gaffigan, and Barrymore as selling points in this film, one would be remiss to demonstrate just how heavy of a hitter this film is with its supporting cast. In addition to all those mentioned, the film also boasts appearances from Kristen Schaal, Mike Birbiglia, Leighton Meester, Natalie Morales, Ron Livingston, Rob Riggle, Sarah Burns, The Haunting of Hill House's Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and, you might have to take our word for this, Mario, himself, Chris Pratt and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.
Yes, believe it or not, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day’s wife, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, are both featured in the film yet do not appear on the screen or in the credits as their scene was cut. If one owns the DVD of this film, as this author does, this scene can be found among those deleted scenes mentioned earlier, which serves as a strange prescient mosaic for things to come… all the way back in 2010. Pratt stands out immediately as a comedic actor with dedication and timing that forecast his meteoric rise to bigger and better things.
'Going the Distance' Is One of the Most Underrated Rom-Coms
Going the Distance is not only a must-see Charlie Day performance — it's also a criminally underrated rom-com featuring great performances from a futuristic troupe of actors. If you didn’t love Drew Barrymore in the late '90s or 2000s then you need to have your pulse checked. This film didn’t really have its heyday in its initial run, and though many of the plot devices (landlines, remember them?) might not resonate, the idea that long-distance relationships are taxing and love can and should persevere still rings true. Moreover, this film showcases a phenomenal Charlie Day performance that should fill the hole in appreciators that are clamoring for his next film and still celebrating his surreal appearance in Ben Abraham’s Jillian Bell-directed video “If I Didn’t Love You.”
Going the Distance isn’t currently streaming anywhere, and those deleted scenes aren’t on YouTube, so buy the DVD or make friends with someone who has it.