'Going the Distance' (R) (out of four)

There is a lot to love about "Going the Distance," the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy about two people who find that their chemistry outweighs lots of adversity.

Drew Barrymore has learned how to maximize the over effervescence of her bubbly personality. So, rather than stretch her acting muscles here, she does what she does best: She plays Drew Barrymore.

Her on again-off again real life relationship with paramour Justin Long helps propel the believability factor, and adds real-life depth to the story of late twentysomethings trying to find their way in an over populated dating pond.

Barrymore plays aspiring journalist, Erin, working as a summer intern at a big-city New York newspaper (is there any other kind in the movies?) who meets indie-record company talent agent Garrett weeks before she's to return to the West Coast.

Garrett's just received the heave-ho from a girlfriend who expected her birthday to be more than take out food and a roll in the sack. "No present?" she chirps. "You said you didn't want one," he says. "Well, I didn't mean that," she says. Oops.

When he meets Erin, whose name is at the top of the high score in the bar's Centipede game, and who believes, like he does, that the Beastie Boys' "License to Ill" and a good bong hit are nirvana, it's a match made in heaven.

There's only one catch; the romance can't go full guns because Erin's out the door in six weeks. But, go figure, they do get involved. Meanwhile, things get even thicker when the people in their lives get sucked into their relationship, too.

In fact, some of the funniest moments happen on the peripheral. Garrett's slacker friends played by "Saturday Night Live's" Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" have some of the most side-splitting moments (don't miss Day's toilet scene). And Christina Applegate as Erin's germophobic sister has the best moment in the film after she catches Erin and Garrett in a compromising position on her dining room table.

Like a modern day "Sleepless in Seattle," these two find love in a likely place, which turns into a very unlikely place. The jokes are quick-witted, the characters are folks you live near, work with, or are Facebook friends.

Overall, the film is just all around likeable. Come to think of it, a lot like Drew herself.