Meet Jerry (Ryan Reynolds), a friendly dude who works at the Milton Bathtub Factory. He lives in an apartment with his dog, Bosco, and his cat, Mr. Whiskers. Small-town life, right? Except for the fact that Jerry never quite recovered from a childhood trauma and as a result, suffers from bouts of schizophrenia during which he holds conversations with his dog, his cat and the head of one of his dates (Gemma Arterton) that he keeps stocked in his fridge.  If Lisa (Anna Kendrick) knew about this, she probably wouldn’t go out with the guy. But she doesn’t. Not right away at least.

Remember that Proclaimers song? I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more? That’s what Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) does in this movie. Strayed doesn’t cope well with the sudden loss of her mother and pretty much makes a complete mess of her life. There’s some drug abuse. There are anonymous sex partners. Both of which don’t sit well with her husband, who consequently leaves her.