Jersey Girl

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Comic Books
Review: Kevin Smith has produced a movie that dispenses with his normal scatological humor and his fans do not like it one bit. That says more about them than it does about Jersey Girl, a touching if formulaic movie starring the much underappreciated Ben Affleck as a widowed single father who is raising his daughter while trying to get back to the life and career he once had. This is a good movie and it demonstrates that Smith has a range that extends beyond the four-letter word toilet comedy that appeals to his normal below normal adolescent audience.

Jersey Girl begins when Ollie Trinkie (Affleck), a high-powered Manhattan publicist, finds himself a widower when his wife, played competently by Affleck's ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez, dies in childbirth. When Ollie offends his client - the actor Will Smith - under the strain of trying to balance his career with his responsibilities as a parent, he finds himself out of a job and moved in with his father, Bart (George Carlin).

Flash forward seven years and Ollie is working with his father for the public works department of the New Jersey suburb where they live while raising his beloved daughter, Gertie, played by a wildly talented child actress named Raquel Castro. Ollie's life is now one of street sweepers, sewer lines, school plays, multiple failed attempts to get back into the New York publicists business and weekly trips to the video store with his little daughter where he meets Maya (Liv Tyler), a grad student working her way through school while she completes her thesis on married men and pornography. They fall in love, though that is not the focus of the story.

The rest of the plot follows a predictable course. Ollie finally gets an interview that will allow him to move back to New York and his old career, dismaying his father, Maya and Gertie. Worse still, the interview is the same afternoon as Gertie's school play in which Ollie is supposed to participate.

The glaring flaw in Jersey Girl is obvious. The plot has been done a thousand times before and the outcome is not in doubt. This outrages Kevin Smith's fans, who are not happy when movies are not about frustrated lesbian love affairs and the joys of prolonged adolescence. However, there is a reason for formulas - they work when done right, and Jersey Girl is done very right.

The point is not the plot, per se, rather the point is the characters and whether they are engaging enough as people for the audience to be able to relate to them. Here is where Jersey Girl works its magic. Jersey Girl's characters are refreshingly normal. The audience relates to them because their motivations are very human, their flaws are understandable and not so extreme as to be inexcusable, and their underlying nobility turns them from ordinary into extraordinary people. In short, they are a delight to watch and it is easy to care about them. From Ollie's life of quiet desperation and its competing deep love for his daughter to his father's grumpy old man sentimentality to Maya's wide-eyed good heartedness to Gertie's genuine childlike love for her father and her family, the characters elicit sympathy, empathy and admiration.

Moreover, the formula works because the situations are real. It is hard not to laugh when Ollie is faced with the daunting task of trying to answer Gertie's questions about "boy parts." How many parents have similarly squirmed? Equally, the pain is palpable when Ollie, desperate to go to the interview that will get him his old job, angrily tells his daughter that he hates her because she took his life away. He instantly regrets what he says and begs for forgiveness from his little girl as the tears stream down her face. The scene hurts because the audience knows how often hasty words are said in anger.

Also, the acting in Jersey Girl is terrific. As Maya, Liv Tyler has a role where her looks and charm perfectly mesh with her character. Maya shocks with her forwardness but attracts with her warmth and tenderness. George Carlin as Bart splendidly mixes blue-collar harshness with the wisdom of years. He does not preach, but he lives by an uncomplicated moral code and he expects it to be followed. Raquel Castro as Gertie is magnificent. This young girl displays a mastery of dialogue and expression so natural that it seems effortless. Jason Biggs, Stephen Root and Mike Starr also do well in their supporting roles, as does, it must be said in all fairness, Jennifer Lopez

Special credit, however, deserves to be given to the much-abused Ben Affleck. If Jersey Girl is being punished by fans and critics because Kevin Smith dared to write a movie for people too old to read comics, Affleck is being doubly punished because he dared to date Jennifer Lopez. There is no other reasonable explanation for criticizing his work in Jersey Girl.

Previously, Bounce was Affleck's best leading man romance movie. However, in Jersey Girl, Affleck makes a quantum leap. He brings to the role of Ollie a genuineness and sincerity that the cynically inclined are too quick to dismiss. Most of all, Affleck makes an unbelievably convincing father. He manages a tone of voice and demeanor that conveys by turns parental pride, exasperation, uncertainty, humor, grief, subdued desperation and the deep sense of love to which any parent could relate. No Hollywood-style father-daughter banter here, thank goodness. Affleck does serious work in Jersey Girl, and if he lacks the range of some actors, he still shows a real ability to express the depths of human feeling.

Jersey Girl's main sin is that it lacks the biting irony that has been the hallmark of Smith's other films. Instead, what Jersey Girl offers is a tribute to those bonds of love and friendship that are the glue of family and the foundation of character. Is it formula? Sure, and the world could use a bit more of it.

Rating:
Summary: just a little laugh..a little tear...
Review: Ollie Trinke is a slick Manhattan rock promoter who falls in love, gets married, and has a baby. Things are cool so far. During labor, his beautiful wife delivers a lovely baby girl. But sadly, Mom doesn't make it. Ollie really loved his wife. And the problem is now: Who will take care of the child while Ollie presents Fresh Prince? A talented cast, a witty script, and the devilish Kevin Smith have given birth to the sleeper of the year. Aren't we all chasing that better job? Should I buy a new cell phone? Is my car out of date? Does it matter? "Jersey Girl" attacks the GEN-X madness of modern big-city rat-race. What is happiness all about? The big bucks or the little family? No new ground here, but very flawless execution. "Jersey Girl" stars Ben Affleck, cool and sober, and perfect as big-shot Ollie Trinke. The cast includes Liv Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon, Will Smith, and a very remarkable George Carlin. The real ringer is little Raquel Castro,as 7-year-old Gertie. This tiny ball of dynamite from Long Island steals your heart and leaves you laughing out-loud. Doubt me? Don't just buy a ticket for "Jersey Girl", get down to the theater right now! My mother was from Teaneck. Trust me on this one. There's nothing like a "Jersey Girl".

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical Kevin Smith film
Review: People who went because of Kevin Smith's prior body of work will be disappointed and those that stayed away because of his prior body of work will also be disappointed. This is a very light and formulaic romantic comedy but should resonate with any parent. The characters are likable the situations are light and entertaining. Liv Tyler and George Carlin make up for the normal Affleck personality void (I think the only person he has showed chemistry with has been Matt Damon). This movie will provide for a few laughs, a tear or two, and will leave you with a nice feel good feeling in the end.

Rating:
Summary: I Was Glad Whent it Was Over
Review: The good thing I can say about the movie is that I laughed once or twice.

Ok, now on to the bad things. The plot was shaky at best. The forced humor often missed and was not funny. There were many inappropriate situations including when Liv Tyler kept talking about Ben Affleck watching [...], then throwing herself at him by offering him meaningless sex. Then there was the EXCESSIVE language. Ugh.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Don't let your kids watch this. Period.

Rating:
Summary: Why not? Watchable. And Liv Tyler is on fire.
Review: The worst thing that one can say that J Lo is tragically miscast. I am not saying she is a bad actress (because she is not bad, she is quite simple THE WORST), but for the role, it is impossible to feel sorry when she dies: talk about impossibility of separating actor's own image from the role. The saddest moments of the movie are the first minutes when this self-centered, hysterical, unstable, whining cow is actually on the screen.

Ben Affleck is average - I did not mind watching him in this role; and he has a credible go at credible depiction of the type. George Carlin is superb, and his caustic wit, an echo of all-stops-pulled stand up performances, occasionally shines through - a delight.

But of course it is Liv Tyler who makes the movie not just watchable, but very, very pleasantly watchable. Liv is heart-stoppingly cute in this film, even in her slightly unflattering librarian spectacles. The film is family stuff, so don't expect One Night At McCool's type of drooling (foamy car wash and stuff), but oh boy is she worth her royalty check.

Rating:
Summary: "You have to be the guy that gets done by six"
Review: This is a comedy that does not present the viewer with novel ideas and that does not use innovative ways to make us laugh. But, even though the plot may be trite, the outstanding Raquel Castro, in her role of Gertie, gives a freshness to this film that makes it worth watching. This little girl captivates the hearts of the viewers, and allows us to enjoy the time spent on this otherwise average comedy.

Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a successful New York publicist working for the music industry. One day he meets Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez), a serious business woman, who right away makes him fall for her. Everything happens quickly; Ollie takes Gertrude to Jersey to meet his father (George Carlin) and then asks her to marry him, getting her pregnant that same night. Things are going great, the couple is in love, they keep up with their busy lives and they are fashionably late for every event they have to participate in. Everything turns south though when Gertrude dies after an aneurysm she carried ruptures during labor.

Ollie cannot deal with the situation and asks his father, Bart, to take care of the baby. But Bart is not willing to keep it up for long, and Ollie finds himself with a baby under his care and out of a job. That is when he decides to be the best father in the world, and seven years later he is working sweeping the streets of Jersey with his father and trying to get back in the world of publicity.

Besides Raquel Castro, I found the performances of George Carlin (I love this guy's humor) and Liv Tyler to be particularly good. I consider myself lucky by the fact that Tyler got the role of Maya, a graduate student who works in a video store and meets Ollie and Gertie during one of their trips for movies. This allowed Tyler to get much more screen time than Lopez gets, which I think helps the movie overall.


Rating:
Summary: The story was awsome the acting was not
Review: This movie had the what it took to be a big block buster I believe. The story is beautiful and i was amazed. The acting how ever did not hold up to the story. I think it is a shame they didn't pick people who could make this movie big. There are parts that you know if they had the right actor would have been halarious. But they were not because of the actors. I have nothing against ben or liv it was just not their movie. I have seen others with them and have enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: An Emotional Treat for Us Old Folks. Comendable
Review: This review is in defense of a movie which seems to be suffering from a number of reviews which consider this a modest movie at best and at worst, a disappointment after some of writer / director Kevin Smith's earlier movies.

Let me be among the first to say that I miss Jay and Silent Bob and I sincerely hope Smith finds it in his heart to have them reappear in a future movie. They don't have to be the feature characters as in 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back', but just seeing them again will warm my heart and the thousands of other fans. In that regard, the only Kevin Smith repetoire company cameos which pop up in this movie is a in a very brief scene where Matt Damon and Jason Lee appear as publicity agency execs interviewing the Ben Afleck character for a job.

This movie also has virtually none of the pottie humor and doper humor and foul language humor of all his earlier movies. The only pottie jokes are given to the seven year old character played by Raquel Castro.

Now to get to the heart of the matter. If you are over thirty-five and have lost a father or a mother or a spouse, this film may affect you deeply. Smith's story really works as a tale of loss and conflict between ambition, responsibility, and affections.

Ben Afleck may not have as wide an acting reach as someone like Nicholas Cage or Johnny Depp, but his persona really works in this character. His slightly petulant air is a perfect fit to the role of a publicity agent who lost his job through a perfectly human fit of pique. I like to believe this may have a lot to do with his rapport with director Smith. I'm almost certain Smith wrote this part with Afleck in mind.

George Carlin is perfect in his role, and it has been said in more than one interview with both Carlin and Smith that this part was written specifically for him, and it fits him to a tee. I believe his performance is the best in the movie.

As a fanatical 'Lord of the Rings' book and movie fan, I was delighted to see Liv Tyler's performance, a very nice change from her role as the Elven princess Arwen in LOTR. The odd thing is that the scene I found the most effective was where Tyler played her grad student girlfriend playing a singing roll in the little girl's performance of a scene from Sweeny Todd. Very, very droll. She was also superb in the scene when Afleck announces his intention to move back to New York City. I hope Smith casts her again.

I am reluctant to judge Raquel Castro's performance, as her effectiveness may have been due as much to a very talented casting decision as to acting skill. I will only say that it works and contributes to the movie.

There are two minor character actors whose names escape me, but who do a remarkably effective job in playing municipal worker colleagues to Carlin and Afleck in the New Jersey borough where they live and work for most of the movie.

I am very happy to see this script from Smith, of whom I have been a fan for less than a month now, having looked back at his earlier movies, especially 'Dogma' since the buzz began for the release of 'Jersey Girl'. Both 'Dogma' and 'Chasing Amy' show major writing and directing skills, but they tend to be hidden in all the theological (...)in the two films. The simple story presents only the most basic cinematic skills. My best complement is reserved for his resolution which used a conversation between Afleck and the totally predictable cameo appearance of Will Smith. While this cameo was a sure thing, the use to which it was put fit perfectly into the logic of the movie, without being predictable itself. If I may be disappointed with the lack of bang in the finale, I cannot fault writer /director Smith's remaining true to the story.

I must also give the strongest possible thanks for the classy cinematography from the great Vilmos Zigsmond. I am really tired of looking at 'Matrix' inspired grey green with hot red highlights, and no other colors in many recent pictures and even the dark, washed out look of most of Smith's earlier films.

This movie may not inspire the 18 to 25 year olds, but for us old folks, it had just the right amount of visceral punch. But I still want to see Jay and Silent Bob in a future movie!