Movie romance usually isn't like real romance, but "Going the Distance" gets closer than most — as it deals smartly and sweetly with the real-world obstacles and compensations of love in modern times.

In New York City, a guy and a gal meet at the bar. They are Erin (Drew Barrymore), a fledgling journalist finishing her internship at a New York paper, and Garrett (Justin Long), who works unhappily for a record company. They get talking about their dying industries, they get drunk, they get a little stoned and they get in bed together.

The next morning, they discover they still like each other and want to see each other again. The complication comes from the fact that Erin's internship is up in six weeks, and she'll be moving back to San Francisco. When the six weeks are up, and Garrett takes Erin to the airport, they impulsively decide they want to keep the relationship going, long-distance.

From there, director Nanette Burstein and rookie writer Geoff LaTulippe smartly dissect the perils of keeping the flame alive on opposite coasts. Airfare is expensive, but there are always phone calls, e-mails and text messages. They do visit each other occasionally, as Garrett meets Erin's married-and-harried sister Corinne (Christina Applegate), and Erin gets to know Garrett's New York buddies (Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day). They even, in a pinch, try phone sex — though the results are less satisfying and more comic than expected.

Burstein is a documentarian by training (she directed the high-school slice-of-life "American Teen" and co-directed the Robert Evans bio "The Kid Stays in the Picture"), and she milks an unforced honesty from the story. The characters feel lived-in and fleshed-out, as the actors improvise some scenes to bring a naturalness to the relationships.

It helps, in terms of authenticity, that Barrymore and Long have been (and, according to which gossip websites you read, might be again) an item in real life. Their chemistry onscreen is free-wheeling and completely real, and there are moments when you wonder a bit whether they're re-enacting moments from their own relationship.

There are also plenty of laughs, mostly supplied by the supporting cast. Day (one of the stars of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") is hilarious as Garrett's roommate Dan, who can hear Garrett and Erin's love-making and attempts to add musical accompaniment. The real scene-stealer, though, is Applegate, fiercely protective of her sister while bemoaning the romantic drought in her marriage to Phil (Jim Gaffigan).

"Going the Distance" works because it finds, even in the familiar confines of a movie romance, a kernel of reality to which all of us can relate — and it trusts us, the audience, to see the humor in that.

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Going the Distance

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long keep it real in this charming tale of long-distance romance.

Where • Theaters everywhere.

When • Opens today.

Rating • R for sexual content including dialogue, language throughout, some drug use and brief nudity.

Running time • 107 minutes.