Today I watched the movie Celeste and Jesse Forever, which is Rashida Jones' screenwriting debut. Although I enjoyed the move overall and recommend it, there were definitely parts of it I thought didn't make sense or were unnecessary. The movie is about Celeste and Jesse, two best friends who ended up dating and eventually getting married (explained in a photo montage at the beginning of the film). The movie starts with the two of them having separated 6 months before the start of the movie and in the process of getting a divorce. Although Celeste and Jesse are separated, they see each other everyday and remain best friends. In fact, Jesse lives in the studio behind the main house where Celeste lives. Their friends tell them this relationship is weird but Celeste and Jesse just don't see it that way and reassure each other that what they have is normal and healthy. It's never explicitly explained why the two of them decided to separate but one can assume that they grew apart; Celeste is a driven trend analyst with her own company and Jesse is an unemployed artist who does not seem to be in any rush to find his next job. It is clear that Jesse still holds out hope that they will get back together and that Celeste does not want to be with Jesse the way he currently is, undependable, unemployed, and immature.
The part of the movie I have issues with is Jesse's sudden 180 in his feelings about Celeste just because he knocked up a one-night stand 3 months ago and just found that she's pregnant. I also take issue with the fact that he loves Veronica (the one-night stand) after knowing her for only one or two months while claiming to have such strong feelings for Celeste and their relationship not long prior. At one point in the movie Jesse even comes over to Celeste's house because he misses her. When she tells him that he should go, after they share a quick kiss, he asks to stay and spend the night and spoon. The next night Celeste tracks Jesse down in a bar and tells him she still has feeling for him and asks if there's a chance he still has feelings for her. Jesse completely wigs out at this and says he doesn't have feelings and that he never wants to see her again. Then why did you spend the night last night?? Although it made for funny scenes, I thought the movie was being too harsh to Celeste; after Jesse leaves, her world starts to fall apart while his improves 10 fold. Celeste was initially portrayed as a strong, smart, and put together character. Sure, she had her issues and insecurities, but overall she seemed capable and driven. After Jesse leaves, her character falls apart, she becomes slovenly in dress and in business. Perhaps my biggest issue with the film is that I initially thought it would be a movie about Celeste and Jesse, instead Celeste was the main character. We saw the separation, the final break-up, and the rebound all from Celeste's point of view. At the end of the movie I felt I understood Celeste, her issues and complications, but I did not feel that I understood Jesse. As the movie progress Celeste became more and more a person to me, where as Jesse de-evolved from a person to a plot device.
Despite my issues with Jesse's character and parts of Celeste's character development, I still really enjoyed the movie and found it touching, humorous, and entertaining. Rashida Jones is a very talented and funny actress and a screenwriter with great potential. I look forward to watching more movies she has written!
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