Rating: Summary: Jennifer prooves her worth Review: If youre looking for a friends kind of movie then dont get this one, rent Picture Perfect or just Friends. This is a movie that is all about the acting. I knew Jake could do it cause he played a similar character in Donnie Darko but i was not sure Jennifer could do it. But Jennifer surely prooved her worth and she got rid of the Rachel image right away. I belived the characters in the film and that matters a lot. This movie is wery tragic but still wery happy at times. The plot is good and the ending was surprising.
Rating: Summary: Don't Let Any Bad Reviews Fool You !!! Review: I believe this film is so much more deserving than its negative reviews posted on this site. Surprisingly, some have described it as being boring and pointless. Perhaps the movie IS boring in a way, but this was only done to portray the dull, lower middle-class lifestyle that the wife (Jennifer Aniston) has lived out each and every day. She gets to a point where she begins to question whether she's taken the right path in her life and whether she wants to continue it or to start a new one. That is the entire focus of the film, and there are certainly a lot of people who could relate to this premise.The cast is very good, but the actor I specifically want to mention is Tim Blake Nelson, who plays the husband's idiot friend, Bubba. He's such a riot! You will immediately recognize this guy from OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? when he escaped from the chain gang with George Clooney. He seems to play the exact same person in this movie, but man, he plays it with such hillbilly-ish perfection!
Rating: Summary: 2 stars for effort -- boring and pointless Review: i hate to say this b/c i am a huge jen aniston fan but, this was undoubtably not her best performance. i watched about an hour of it and turned it off. her husband is always high and so she basically has an affair. woop-dee-doo. nothing more to it. if u want to see a good movie about the importance of oneself check out real women have curves.
Rating: Summary: the big yawn Review: I can see that others raved about this movie, but I found it hard to sit through. I am not criticizing the performances, but my question is: what is the point of this movie? Whose fault IS it that Justine's life is so dull? I can't see how it's anybody's fault but hers. I kept wanting her to DO something: go to school, take classes, become a carpenter, a chef, a real estate agent, a gardener, an artist, ANYTHING. She seems just empty. She's bored with her husband because he smokes pot and watches inane TV, but she isn't any better. Hard to feel sympathetic. And the movie was just as boring. At one point I thought it would turn into a real black comedy, but it retreated to just dull.
Rating: Summary: an entertaining film Review: i enjoyed this film--i thought the acting was very good, the characters were appropriately deep, and i was interested in what happened to them. i do hate to see people throw up on screen, so that was one reason for the lower mark, the other reason was that, being from texas, i am quite sure that this film was neither filmed there nor were any of the actors using anything that resembled an appropriate accent, which i found really distracting. and, the film was really good but not great--it is a good rental that might not hold up on repeat viewing. nelson yelling at his dog during sex was so disturbingly funny that it is worth the rental for that alone!
Rating: Summary: Aniston Is Good Review: The Good Girl offers Jennifer Aniston a chance to play against type and she shows she can play a character that is the 180-degree turn from her role as Rachel on Friends. Ms. Aniston stars as Justine Last, a thirty-year old woman who is caught in a dead-end job at a store called Retail Rodeo and in a stagnant marriage to Phil (John C. Reilly). Phil is a shiftless slob who is constantly sitting in front of the television smoking dope with his painting co-worker, Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). At work Justine starts falling for a troubled new cashier, Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal). Holden is a twenty-two year old college dropout and has a troubled life of his own. His real name is Tom, but he adopted the name Holden from Catcher In The Rye and he wants to be a writer. Just like Holden Caufield, Tom has psychiatric problems, but he makes Justine feel alive again and they enter into a [love] affair. Justine is torn between her love for Holden and the guilt she feels for having an adulterous relationship. Justine and Phil are trying to have kids, but have been unsuccessful and in one very humorous scene at fertility clinic, Phil asks Justine to help him in providing the clinic with a sample. Justine does become pregnant, but the movie leaves it uncertain to who is the father. One is lead to believe it's Holden, because the fertility clinic tells Phil that his sperm is no good, but they never divulge the secret. At the end of the film, Holden robs the Retail Rodeo of about $20,000. He asks Justine to run away with him and Justine must decide whether she goes with Holden or stays with Phil. The film is a dark and somewhat depressing tale, but is tempered nicely with comic relief, most notably provided by Zooey Deschanel as Cheryl, an acerbic co-worker of Justine's at the Retail Rodeo. She starts the film off as the P.A. announcer in the store and her bizarre and hilarious announcements on store specials are priceless and she has the habit of slipping the most inappropriate words into her sales pitches to customers at the cosmetic counter where she applies the most garish makeup looks to be both herself and customers. John Carroll Lynch is an underrated character actor and he gives yet another strong and under appreciated performance as Retail Rodeo's store manager. Director Miquel Arteta creates a perfect visual landscape for the film. The dusty and windy setting of the nameless Texas town where the story takes place fits the despair of the film and screenwriter Mike White adds all the right touches to the script as well as acting as a security guard at Retail Rodeo who is a religious zealot. In the end, this film relies on Ms. Aniston's performance. The film tries to make her look unglamorous and douty and that doesn't quite work, but she gives a very strong performance and is worthy of the praise she received for the role. I wouldn't go so far to say it was Oscar worthy, but it is by far the best acting job she has done outside of her brilliant work on Friends and it was definitely among the ten or fifteen performances from an actress in 2002
Rating: Summary: The Scariest Girl Review: In dreamy reverie suggestive of "Raizing Arizona," "The Good Girl" is anything but. In an indictment of tragic love and dreamers everywhere, this movie outlines the futility and horror of happily ever after by illustrating the lengths people will go to maintain the cages in which they live. Jennifer Aniston's perfectly portrayed character (except for the lacking accent, also reminiscent of "RA") shuffles through her life forgoing crazy dreams for the necessary drudgery of her everyday existence. With unflinching brutality, this movie torpedoes the smug, self-righteous stance of those who would sacrifice comfort and tedium for adventure and risk taking. One cannot help but cheer her on as she cuts a swath though any who would imperil the predictable tempo of her existence. Lies, betrayal, and denial justify the end in which the happy couple can bring another precious life into the world. On a purely technical level, Aniston displays complete poise and a marked departure from the tired characters that have defined her to date. With perfect tone she projects the images of lover, dreamer, (attempted) murderer, coward, and conniver with total authenticity, ease and just a little venom. This movie also boasts a remarkable supporting cast and a breathing cinematic background. For those of you who covet the coworker/peer who seems totally despondent and dissatisfied with their lot in life, this is a cautionary tale that should not be missed.
Rating: Summary: Great Film but Texas Flag Gaffe Review: I thought Jennifer Aniston was wonderful in this film and it was very touching, though a bit easy to predict. The only gaffe was that the Texas flag is prominantly displayed in one scene UPSIDE DOWN! Apalling for those of us from the Lone Star State!
Rating: Summary: Thoughtful, recognizable, and engaging Review: A wonderful and thoughtful film. Although Jennifer Aniston is the "name" on the box, this is, in reality, a very strong ensemble piece, with each actor bringing great things to their characters, no matter how little time we see them on screen. The casting is brilliant all the way around. This is a touching story about average people, which is what makes it so powerful. As viewers, we can recognize ourselves and our loved ones in the characters. In a market saturated by simplistic "good guy" "bad guy" sterotypes, this script and film encourage us, as the audience, to really THINK and to consider the multi-faceted emotions, decisions, complications, and actions that make us human. We are able to see our own strenghths and faults inthe characters as they evolve; we are able to empathise because we relate to the dillemas in whch the characters find themselves. This script is wonderful, and obviously owes its inspiration to John Steinbeck's little-known play "Burning Bright". "The Good Girl" does a wonderful job giving Steinbeck's play a modern edge, and makes it truly accessible for the viewing audience. I highly recommend this film for anyone looking for a thought-provoking and enjoyable movie. If you're looking for brain candy, this is not the one.
Rating: Summary: Awful, stupid, boring Review: This movie made me thinking about how needy Jennifer Aniston and others in this movie should be to participate in something like this. Worst movie I've seen for the last two or three years. Feel robbed by both time and money. Do NOT recommend to anyone.
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