Rating: 
Summary: Poor directing = Snorefest
Review: While this movie is a different direction for Jennifer Aniston, I just could not get into the movie. By the end, I didn't even care what happened to the characters. I found the pace slow, the plot was neither funny nor dramatic, and while it was supposed to be set in Texas all of the external scenery was of California. I just did not see what all of the critics liked about this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I rented this movie expecting a GOOD movie. I guess the acting was ok and everything, after all, it did raise emotions in me that I haven't felt towards a movie in a long time: Anger. It wasn't the actors fault I don't think. The movie flat out could have been better written. Instead I wound up so angry at just about every turn this movie took, and really disliking pretty much every character in this movie. The thing with Bubba was totally unnecessary and I think was the point I went from thinking this movie might make a possible recovery to just being a waste of my time and those people's talent.
Rating: 
Summary: Lifted above mediocre by phenomenal performances
Review: Well, it has been a week since I watched this film and I am still thinking about it while I try to go to sleep. Perhaps it has something to do with being transplanted to California from a life in Kentucky that I know would have wound up just like Justine's. But I know there is more at work here to make this film so thought-provoking.The basic plot, without spoiling anything, is this: Justine is a young married woman whose husband is a gentle but somewhat slow pothead. She involves herself with Holden, a co-worker, hoping for a temporary diversion from what she sees as the dead end of her life. She underestimates Holden's immaturity, however, and her efforts to reverse her initial poor decision cause things to get more and more out of control for her. Yes, it isn't a terribly action-filled plot, but who of us leads a life that would read like a James Bond film if summarized in five sentences? And therein lies the genius of this little film: accurately reproducing the little mannerisms and patterns that mark day-to-day life. The script, written by supporting actor Mike White, contains some geniunely comic moments. The character of Cheryl, Justine's sarcastic co-worker, provides consistent humor, and Zooey Deschanel steals all of her scenes. However, the poignant and dramatic scenes could easily have come off as cheesy if portrayed by actors any less accomplished than the ones cast. Jennifer Aniston gained my complete respect with this performance, which is leagues away from anything she has done in comedies or for TV. She portrays Justine's quiet desperation with finesse and expressiveness. Jake Gyllenhaal, reprising the "disturbed young man" role he did so well in "Donnie Darko", manages to express a range of emotions with very little shift in facial expression, showing a mastery of his art that is positively precocious at his age. At this point the only problem Gyllenhaal has is that he is so good in this role that he risks being typecast. The supporting cast is great as well: John C. Reilly offers yet another dead-on portrayal of a cuckolded husband, Tim Blake Nelson is the perfect typical stoner with darker desires percolating in his subconscious, and Mike White has written himself into the film perfectly as the religious-zealot security guard. This is not an easy film to watch. Its themes are troubling, its ending does not neatly wrap up everyone's stories, and the characters we are supposed to root for sometimes make decisions that are extremely hard to justify. But the film does a great job at getting behind the decisions people make that sometimes seem incomprehensible to others. In short, this is a film you should see if you don't mind that it may not leave your thoughts for several days. It manages to amuse at times, but ultimately leaves you with questions of "Why did that happen?" and "What did that mean?". Kind of like life itself.
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: the good girl is a portrait of modern day filmmaking at it's very best. of course it's weird and depressing take on justines life could use some comedy. other than being dark i thought it was an masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: i became "the good girl"
Review: i was just like Jennifer in the movie while watching this badly written "comedy". Bored, angry, frustrated and unsatisfied. what the!? how did this movie get all the buzz? I did came up with a conspiracy theory for it but i will not get into that here. Although you got to love how Jennifer do her little walk in this one, that alone cannot hold up the entire movie. The script was a disaster, it was flat out hmm...flat...well, dont believe the critics and certainly dont believe me neither, go watch it and see for yourself. Don't buy it just yet, go rent it first.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Dilemma (Without Revealing the Plot)
Review: Why do so many reviewers think they have to give the entire plot in their comments? Here is something to think about that avoids giving it all away. Jennifer Aniston, of course she's a good actress, otherwise she wouldn't have made it as far as she has. Is she a great actress? We'll need a half dozen films like Good Girl to decide. At least she has started....which is more than you can say for most of the cast of Friends. Is her character, Justine, a discarded wife? I'm not sure, her husband seems to have discarded himself too and I sure didn't see Justine valuing him too much either. Reviewers who are talking about "her destiny lies in her own hands and not in the hands of those around her" are pretty far off the mark in my opinion. This plot is a tangled web of interwoven interpersonal interactions, nicely done with a good number of unexpected twists and decisions by the characters that make sure you can't predict what will happen next. And that, folks, is what makes a movie intriguing. That's a pretty good offering and certainly more than you get from most films these days. Nice job by director Miguel Arteta and the script writing team.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good girl
Review: This film about a bored and desparate working wife's descent into hell is done in the style of the Coen brothers. In fact, it reminded me quite a bit of "Raising Arizona". The supporting cast is tremendous, and Jennifer Aniston performed well above my expectations. The plot is well constructed. The pacing, I think intentionally slow to reflect the miserable sameness of Justine's life, makes it easier for us to understand her plight. Thematically, the film is a bit irritating. Justine is responsible for all sorts of mayhem, but doesn't seem too concerned about the havoc she's wreaking, except in terms of how it's going to affect her. In the end, you would expect her to be behind bars, not living happily ever after.
Rating:
Summary: Just give it time!
Review: This movie starts off slow, but it is intended to be that way. It portrays the small "Hickville" town and gradually develops the characters showing their flaws. This movie ends up being a very heart-felt one and if you take the time to follow it...it's great.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Bad*
Review: Overall this is a bad movie. Sorry Jennifer* - It's not you're fault... & I hope to see her in something alot better soon!
Don't buy this one... rent it first... just in case you feel the same as I do after watching it.
Rating:
Summary: Smart, funny, and shocking...Aniston delivers!!!!
Review: Jennifer Aniston gives a near flawless performance in this bleak, depressing, and wonderful movie, a seductive tale of love and loneliness. Justine (Jennifer Aniston) has always been THE GOOD GIRL. Thirty years old and working in a Texas discount store, she is dissatisfied with her routine life and disgusted by her lazy, pot-smoking husband (John C. Reilly in another perfect performance). Her life is nearly at a standstill, until she suddenly notices Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal, wonderful once again) a few cash registers away. He is young and seemingly as lonely as she is, and together the two forge a passionate connection destined to shatter everything Justine stands for. As Justine struggles to cover up her affair, she unwantingly makes things much worse for herself. The movie is a dark comedy about false dreams and lost illusions -- and, thanks to a fine cast and a smart script, it's an effective one, working on plenty of different levels. Director Miguel Arteta and writer-actor Mike White, the clever duo behind "Chuck & Buck," make Justine an anti-heroine at the same time they make fun of her and her world. They make Wasteland, Texas, the quintessential town to escape -- except that in this film, the characters seemingly can't. This is a fine movie, and the perfect role for Aniston. She has certainly opened a lot of eyes and garnered much deserved attention because of this film. The film was slow moving, sometimes excruciatingly, but the running time is fine, therefore it doesn't seem absolutely unbearable. The performances alone, especially that of Aniston, are worth checking out the film for. It's an unusual film, full of depressed, suicidal, and psychotic characters, and I think that's what I loved about it. This is far from conventional for Aniston and I can't imagine anyone else in the role. Not for all tastes, but definitely worth seeing.
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