Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) are the perfect couple. They are incredibly compatible and have a great time when they are together, acting as if they share a brain. The problem is that they are separated and on their way to a divorce. But, they still spend a lot of time together and Jesse lives in his studio behind their house. At the urging of their friends, they both try dating, but it simply doesn’t feel right. But, when it becomes clear that the divorce is going to happen and that the two must begin living new lives, will they be able to handle it?

From that synopsis, you can spot the twist in Celeste & Jesse Forever. Hollywood loves to depict the nastiness of divorce (while also portraying marriage as a fatal trap, how’s that for a double-standard?) and we can all name a movie which showed the painful dissolution of a marriage -- Kramer vs. Kramer, The War of the Roses. But, Celeste & Jesse Forever shows us a couple who are great friends, and truly love one another, but due to some differences in priorities and life goals, they simply didn’t work as a married couple. The movie does a great job of introducing this fun couple, but within minutes, we are shocked to learn that they aren’t really a couple anymore. (And I guess I’ve spoiled that shock for you, but I’m pretty sure that the trailer does it as well.)

The screenplay for Celeste & Jesse Forever comes from star Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who also has a role in the film as Skillz, a drug dealer who hangs out the couple on occasion. Again, Jones and McCormack have come up with a great idea which plays against type and says to us, “Wait a minute, this movie is up to something.” However, that originality isn’t maintained through the second and third acts, where the story unfortunately falls back on some cliched plotlines. One of the reasons why Celeste and Jesse are divorcing is that she sees him as immature and unmotivated and if only he’d grow up and be a man, then she could be with him. How many times have we seen that before? (This was one of the storylines which I thought stymied the overrated Ted.) And, I don’t want to give too much away this time, someone in the relationship realizes that they didn’t know what they had until it was gone and there’s a very hackneyed scene where it all hits home at a friend’s wedding.

Despite the fact that Celeste & Jesse Forever couldn’t live up to its original promise, it does have a lot going for it. Jones and Samberg are excellent in the lead roles. She can play serious and bitchy very well, but she’s proven -- especially on Parks and Recreation -- that she can also do very goofy comedy. Samberg is obviously known for his outrageous shenanigans on Saturday Night Live, namely his “Digital Shorts” and he certainly plays up that angle here. But, he’s also asked to be stoic and quiet and he handles that well. The suppporting cast contains familiar faces like Eric Christian Olsen, Ari Graynor, and Elijah Wood. The movie contains some laugh-out-loud moments, most of which arise out of the chemistry between Jones and Samberg. There are some touching moments as well, but Director Lee Toland Krieger does a better job with the funny than with the sad. Pros and cons aside, I like the fact that Celeste & Jesse Forever at least tried something different and it’s very interesting to know that Rashida Jones is a clever writer as well as a good actress. This is certainly worth checking out, especially if you are looking for something which falls in between a rom-com and the arthouse.

Celeste & Jesse Forever has forced me to see Vaseline Lip Therapy in a new light on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 28 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain and no defects from the source materials. The colors look good, although there are few truly bright colors here, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is appropriate and we can see textures on some objects. The depth is good as well. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are adequate and are mostly noticeably in outdoor or crowd scenes. The same goes for the surround effects. Both display nice separation, but we don’t get many isolated sounds coming from the front or rear channels. The bass effects are limited to music.