We’ve already seen the uncanny appearance of Julianne Moore as controversial Republican ‘soccer Mom’ Sarah Palin in HBO’s forthcoming adaptation of the best-selling book covering John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid (entitled Game Change).

Now (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly) here’s the first chance to see Ed Harris as the Senator in question. Directed by Meet the Parents helmer Jay Roach (who also made 2008 political biopic, Recount, for the same channel) the film also stars Woody Harrelson and Ron Livingston in the tale of McCain less-than-successful attempt to win the US Presidency.

Like Moore, Harris is also surprisingly similar in appearance to the person he’s portraying, although the way his wig sits in this particular photo, he looks a little like another real-life figure too (below).

An official UK poster for Going The Distance has been debuted on the films Facebook page.

Going The Distance has been directed by Nanette Burstein, and once again reunites Drew Barrymore with her on-off lover, Justin Long. Rounding up the cast list are Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Schaal, Charlie Day, Ron Livingston and Peyton List.

Synopsis: Garrett (Long) is still nursing the wounds from a recent breakup when he meets Erin (Barrymore), an unflinchingly honest girl with a big talent for bar trivia. Hitting it off immediately, the pair spend a romantic summer together in New York City. It was supposed to be a summer fling, but as fall approaches and Erin returns to San Francisco, the spark is still there. Subsequently dividing his days between working and hitting the bars with best friends Box (Sudeikis) and Dan (Day), Garrett drops everything whenever Erin calls. The more Garrett’s phone rings, the more his pals begin to suspect that their drinking buddy is taking the relationship a little too seriously. And they’re not the only ones; Erin’s sister, Corrine (Applegate), is keen to ensure that her smitten sibling doesn’t repeat the mistakes of her past, and she makes no attempts to sugarcoat the fact that she disapproves of the coast-to-coast romance. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and as the texting becomes more intense, both Garrett and Erin start to suspect that their summer fling may just be the real thing.

Drew Barrymore has proved herself recently, especially in her directorial debut Whip It. Combine that with the host of talented supporting actors, it shows there’s definitely potential for this to be a moderate success. Let’s just hope it’s better than 2009′s He’s Just Not That Into You, anyway.

Check out the UK poster below:

You can see Going The Distance when it hits UK cinemas on August 27, 2010 or click here to win tickets to the UK Premiere.

We’re firmly in 21st Century rom-com territory here, with elements of the kooky and the quirky mingling with the more traditional tropes of unlikely situations and a collection of helpful friends acting as the Greek chorus.

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long are our two star crossed lovers in this tale of long distance relationships where their career ambitions divide the pair and the have to work hard to see if their love can ‘go the distance’.

As usual a fitting cast assembles around them and includes Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Ron Livingston, Jim Gaffigan, Kelli Garner, Rob Riggle and Christina Applegate.

The trailer released today is as generic as they come, but should charm fans of coms and rom, and this is an interesting, if slightly prosaic, move for director Nanette Burnstein whose previous work includes the documentaries American Teen and The Kid Stays in the Picture.

If a movie has Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis or Ron Livingston in it then it has my attention, shove them all in the same movie and it’s a sure fire winner? The director of Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and 50 First Dates, Jay Roach directs this new comedy starring all the guys mentioned above and looks like it could either be hilarious or awful! I’m hoping for the former! This new trailer has been released on Apple (or embedded below) and I hope it doesn’t show us too much of he movie.

Synopsis: “Dinner for Schmucks” tells the story of Tim (Paul Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Steve Carell), a guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art. From Jay Roach, director of “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers” comes an unforgettable feast about two unlikely friends and one very memorable dinner.

This movie is out in the summer in the US – no release date for the UK as yet.

Remember Ron Livingston? He’s the actor who you may know from Band of Brothers, Swingers and one of my favourite films of all time, Office Space. He’s completely underrated as an actor which can be seen in the diversity of characters in Office Space and Band of Brothers.

Variety have given us information today stating that Livingston has joined the new Jay Roach comedy also set to star Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, “Dinner for Schmuck”.

Pic is an adaptation of the Francis Veber-helmed French film “Le dinner de cons,” in which a group of bourgeois friends regularly invite the biggest schmucks to dinner to ridicule them. Livingston’s recent credits include New Line’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and the indie “Holly.”

Couples Retreat is released this week. Once again Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn re-team, this time in a comedy about four couples who attend a therapeutic couples retreat, little knowing they’ll be expected to put their relationships under the microscope.

Vaughan and Favreau have worked together in several films, most notably in Favreau’s self-penned Swingers in 1996. Directed by Doug Liman, it’s a hip, trendy comedy with cool, likeable characters and endlessly quotable lines. Or is it?

When i first saw Swingers over 10 years ago, i loved it. I loved the snappy dialogue and the laid back attitude of the characters, as they hit the best nightspots and hot parties. My experience re-watching it this week was entirely different.

Mike (Favreau) is a comedian slash actor, who has been in La for sixth months since his girlfriend left him. Mike is really the main character. Now, usually, the main character is likeable, and you want him to pull through and triumph in the end. After six months, Mike is still whining over some girl who didn’t want him, neglecting his career, and more importantly his friends.

Trent (Vaughn) has been desperately trying to bring Mike back out of his shell, re-connect him to the outside world, but Mike won’t let it go. How, then, can someone who feels so put-upon by the world then insist on making his friend, the only one trying to help him out, dress up like an asshole on a trip to Vegas. Trying to look like a high roller to get free stuff, Mike instead, with just a couple hundred dollars to his name, looks like a loser before he even gets into a position to double down. His jokes aren’t even funny, despite the ancient business cards he still carries around announcing him as a comedian. When Trent is about to get lucky, his just reward for trying to find his friend a good time, Mike ruins it, selfishly putting his neurotic tendencies ahead of his friend’s happiness.

Trent, of course, is no great shakes himself. Lively, interesting and charismatic? How about loud, arrogant and obnoxious? Trent’s idea of a great night is to chat-up an equally vacuous female LA wannabe, then tear up her phone number straight after. It clearly goes over his head that this ‘beautiful baby’ wouldn’t have a clue who he was if he rang her the next morning, let alone in five days time. He cheats at video hockey, and berates (in a borderline racist manner) the poor delivery guy, who in LA is probably a fellow actor with a comparable success rate to Trent.

Yeah, about that acting career. Trent’s full of great stories about the parts he didn’t get, but on this evidence his best work has to be consistently acting like a jerk. It maybe doesn’t help that he has friends around him that are worse then he is.

Sue is clearly an angry young man. He joins Trent in over-serious video hockey and delivery guy-baiting, and shares his misogynistic view of women, though in this case without even the ability to talk women into bed. Worse is to come however. Macho posturing in the street leads to Sue pulling a pistol, Boyz n the Hood-style, on some street punks. When Mike dares to call him on it, Sue questions his manhood with some home truths. Not cool man. I blame the parents for the gun thing though. Come on, any father who names his son after the Johnny Cash song is clearly the kinda guy who then pressures him into acting like one tough SOB.

On the surface, Mike’s friend Rob (Ron Livingston) is a pretty nice guy, giving sage advice, and coming round to pick him up when he’s at his lowest. But he’s clearly a pretentious prick. Despite clearly having no aptitude for golf, the two of them play it anyway, and then lie about their scores. And Rob, because of one stint in Shakespeare, thinks that nooo, he’s too good to play Goofy. Let me tell you something Rob, you think Bobby De Niro thinks he’s too good to play Goofy? Have you seen his films recently?

Charles (Alex Desert) is a pretty cool guy, i have to admit, but he’s a loser by association. Any man who has nothing better to do of a night than hang around with these cretins has some kind of issues, right? In the end, Mike meets an equally naive girl who also got dumped by someone who didn’t want her, Lorraine (Heather Graham). Well, i guess they deserve each other. Until she gets back with her ex, that is, and dumps him like yesterday’s garbage.

Trent sums up the attitude of this group best at the end of that night. Drunkenly berating the poor waitress of a late night coffee shop, (what is it with Trent’s hate for food service employees?), stamping on tables with no regard for property. But Trent gets his comeuppance. At the end of the movie, the ‘beautiful baby’ he’s making eyes at only has eyes for her beautiful baby.

What’s that? You think i’m wrong about Swingers, too harsh for you? That’s ok, ‘cos you’re money. You’re so money and you don’t even know it. That’s the saddest part.

Swingers is available now on DVD

Bazmann