Jersey Girl
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Movie Reviews of Jersey Girl
Movie Review: Beyond Comic Books
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: A warm and fuzzy film from Kevin Smith, believe it or not
Summary: 4 Stars
"Jersey Girl" is one of those films where the water level is at the halfway mark and viewers get to vote on whether it is half-full or half-empty. Writer-director Kevin Smith is once again employing Ben Affleck, this time as Ollie Trinke, a publicist whose forte is slinging it fast and furious. Ollie is at the top of his game and his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez), is about to have their first baby. However, it ends up being their only baby because Gertrude dies in childbirth and Ollie is left to raise his daughter alone. Actually, that is not really true, because Ollie dumps the baby on his own father, Bart (George Carlin) until the old guy has enough and forces Ollie to accept some responsibility. Ollie cracks immediately under the pressure and with a few choice sentences commits professional suicide in public.
Seven years later father and daughter are on much better terms. Gertie (Raquel Castro), named by her father for her mother, is deservedly the apple of her father's eye but finds it impossible to get him to take her to go see "Cats." This is only because the musical stopped running three years earlier. They are still living with Bart and Ollie also has a job with in the public works department of their New Jersey town. A couple of times a week they go down to the local video store where Gertie finds something in the children's section (not "Dirty Dancing") while dad quickly sneaks something out of the adult film section. The incongruity of this catches the attention of Maya (Liv Tyler), the clerk behind the counter at the video store, who enjoys making Ollie squirm until she finds out his story. Then she decides that what Ollie really needs is to have sex.
Certainly "Jersey Girl" is predictable. You know that as soon as Ollie finds a new level of contentment with his job and starts a romance for the first time in seven years there is going to be an opportunity to go back to his old life. Gertie is all excited about the upcoming show the kids put on at school where they get to sing with a parent, so you know when things are coming to come to a head as well in this film. But Gertie is really cute and so is Maya, and even if we do not totally buy that Ollie would suddenly go over the deep end and say words to his daughter that should never escape his lips (I wanted Bart to slap him at that point), we are still enjoying the ride because at least Smith's dialogue is always worth hearing.
On the plus side for the final accounting of "Jersey Girl" is that the running joke about Will Smith has a pretty good payoff. If there is a point in the film where Smith avoids being predictable it is in the payoff scene and if he had to point to where the heart of this movie is it is going to be that scene. You can also throw into the mix the fine work of Affleck's supporting cast that give him ample opportunity to play off of others and seem like he is playing more than himself. As for J. Lo, after seeing how she took the entire movie away from Affleck in "Gigli," it is just as well that she makes her indelible mark and then disappears early on in this one (okay, to be fair, the only thing really wrong with in "Gigli" was Affleck's performance).
On the negative side is the whole "Sweeney Todd" bit. Now, realize that I love that musical and even staged a one-act version of it once upon a time. So when Ollie drags Gertie off to see if I not only know that this is not exactly the Broadway show a father wants to take his seven-year-old daughter, but that the song we see being performed ("Johanna") is from the second act, by which time Sweeney has already cut one throat and Mrs. Lovett has come up with the bright idea of using the body to solve the meat shortage she is facing in her pie shop. Add to this what might be the biggest example of jumping the gun I have ever done in watching a movie in my life, because I was absolutely sure that the song Gertie wanted to sing from the show with her father was going to be the love song "Not While I'm Around." I was already crying at the idea of how wonderful that moment was going to be when Ollie and Gertie sang that song together, or he sang it to her or whatever, so when it ends up being "God, That's Good" I was not only surprised but rather disappointed.
So while it is true that the cutest bits of "Jersey Girl" are already in the trailer you have probably scene, this is an enjoyable enough movie. After "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," this 2004 film certainly constitutes a change of pace for Kevin Smith. I still think "Chasing Amy" is Smith's best "real" film ("Dogma" is off in a different universe) and also has Affleck's best performance to date as a leading man. The DVD extras include a half-hour of Smith and Affleck walking down memory lane while trying to explain the strange ways in which their careers have crossed paths, replete with clips. What is interesting in that bit is that Affleck is more interested in explaining Smith's movies than is Smith.
Movie Review: "'Cause you're the only thing I was ever really good at."
Summary: 4 Stars
JERSEY GIRL got kicked to the curb when it first came out, and maybe part of the rancor is because the film was perceived as a departure for writer/director Kevin Smith; his fans maybe were jonesing for yet more Jay and Silent Bob slacker hijinks. Instead JERSEY GIRL unfolds as an unabashedly sentimental family film. And then there was also some of that "Bennifer" backlash still being slung around. And the festering ghost of GIGLI. Having said that, you've gotta be some kind of hard core cynic to not be swayed even a little by this film. Kevin Smith went for the touchy feely stuff, and it worked, worked for me, anyway.
Jennifer Lopez is around for the film's first thirteen minutes, time enough for her to establish her character as the love of Oliver Trinke's life. She dies giving birth to their baby, Gertie. As Oliver, Ben Affleck sort of channels the 1980s Tom Cruise. He starts out as this happening, work-obsessed executive in the music industry, and he is an asshat of the first order. Ollie's life alters drastically with the passing of his wife, the birth of his daughter, the loss of his career in the fast lane (thanks, Fresh Prince). He moves back in with his blue-collar dad (George Carlin) in Jersey and joins him as part of the city's public works department.
Kevin Smith, when not doling out the frat boy humor, is pretty skilled at pushing that emotional button. He certainly did it in CHASING AMY and, here, he throws in the warm and the heartfelt, and yes it is just a bit mawkish. But I bought into it, and I'm not even a fan of Affleck. But he convinces me, his character after seven years still grieving for his dead wife, his utter devotion to his daughter Gertie. It helps that the kid is played so sweetly by Raquel Castro who makes her film debut and instantly lights up the screen. Castro and Affleck play off so well against each other that it's startling to learn (in Smith and Affleck's audio commentary) that she and Ben simply had no chemistry for the first few days of filming. Apparently, Raquel was wishing that, in the script, Ben had been the one to die during childbirth so she could act with JLo instead. The kid got over it.
Kevin Smith plonks in three love stories. There is Carlin and Affleck's father-son relationship, and Affleck and Liv Tyler's growing romance, and Liv, by the way, is really good as the sexy but goofy video store clerk. But the central thread is clearly the father-daughter relationship, and these two actors' interactions really strike a chord. The conflict - because I did say that Affleck was channeling Cruise ala 1980s - rises from Ollie Trinke still hankering for his former slick big city smooth operator ways, except how does he balance that yearning with his role as a father who truly adores his seven-year-old? The acting is good, so the predictability of the story and bits of heavy-handed moments don't drag things too badly. I even liked Kevin's take on that patented plot device of the father trying to get to his kid's big school production in time.
Since this is Kevin Smith, you of course also get exposed to jokes. The story, when it starts, is set back in 1994 and so Kevin injects several hindsight is 20/20 jokes ("George Michael is all about the ladies. 'I Want Your Sex'? That sound like he's singing to a guy?"). There's even one gag about the Fresh Prince that really pays off near the end. Lots of good lines, but my favorite is the school principal emceeing the fall pageant: "First grader Gertrude Trinke and her grandfather will be performing what I can only assume is a hymn entitled "God, That's Good" from the musical Sweeney Todd." Heh.
It's just a really good cast. If you're familiar with Geoge Carlin's stage persona, know that he doesn't do that here, he plays it gruff and straight and he's effective. The hilarious Stephen Root manages to steal plenty of scenes, even some of the scenes featuring the very cute Raquel Castro. Matt Damon and Jason Lee stop by for a funny cameo. Jason Biggs looks like a waxy mannequin on the DVD cover.
The DVD's sizable bonus material, some of which even pertains to this movie: Stream of consciousness audio commentary with Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck; another audio commentary with Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and special guest Jason Mewes; "From MALLRATS to JERSEY GIRL" - Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck shoot the breeze and spend maybe two seconds mentioning this movie (00:27:08 minutes long); You also get five installments from The Tonight Show's "Roadside Attractions" segment hosted by Kevin Smith (including On the Set of JERSEY GIRL); the Behind-the-Scenes special (00:16:20); and really decent text interviews with the cast & crew.
Movie Review: An Emotional Treat for Us Old Folks. Comendable
Summary: 4 Stars
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!
Movie Review: Kevin Smith's Salute to Parenthood
Summary: 4 Stars
Kevin Smith's style prior to this movie included well-written dialogue from thoughtful characters. In particular, the View Askew Universe is populated with characters who talk frankly, honestly and often hilariously about sex. That style is somewhat imperfectly transferred to a movie that features as one of it's main characters a 7 year old girl.
Ben Affleck portrays Ollie Trinke, a High-Profile New York music publicist who begins the picture married to Jennifer Lopez. Poor J. Lo blows an aneurism in childbirth and Ollie is left with little Gertie - named after her Mom.
We see scenes of Ollie trying to juggle his 18 hour a day job with being a single Dad when he blows a gasket at a high-profile press outing for Will Smith. (Will is late for the Hard-Rock Cafe ceremony and shows up later in the film as himself in a real "good sport" kind of role.) The incident becomes so famous among the hacks of New York that even years afterward they call it the "Fresh Prince Incident". Ollie loses his high-profile job and moves back home to Dad's house in Jersey. Dad is played by George Carlin in one of his best film performances.
Seven years are skipped and we again touch base with Ollie and Gertie. From here Gertie is played by Raquel Castro, and I thought that she was not only a competent child actress, but she definitely looks like she could have been J-Lo's child.
Ollie is so single-mindedly devoted to being "Dad" here that he essentially doesn't date for 7 years. He meets Maya, played by Liv Tyler, who works at the local video store while pursuing her degree in sociology. They begin a relationship as essentially platonic - Maya is intrigued by this man who comes in 3-4 times a week and rents porno videos while little Gertie is renting either Barney or "Dirty Dancing". At one point Maya decides to take a little sexual pity on Ollie, and I thought the scene that follows was one of the better thought-out ones of the film.
Ollie has been TRYING to get back into the limelight, but he is a professional pariah ever since the "Fresh Prince Incident". Finally an old friend and subordinate offers him an interview.
Will Ollie get the job despite the "Fresh Prince Incident"? Will he force Gertie to leave the comfortable confines of George Carlin's Grandpa? Will Ben Affleck come tearing back to his child's school at the last moment before Gertie gets up on her elementary school stage and performs in a Broadway-scale production that you see 7 year olds in all the time?
Kevin Smith gets his fingerprints indelibly on this film, but it's not as witty or profane as "Clerks" or "Chasing Amy". It's also a little more "by the formula" than perhaps would be expected from this talented writer-director. I got the sense that Liv Tyler was supposed to be a little frumpy as this video-store graduate student, but I couldn't help noticing that she looked an awful lot like one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood.
Recommended for those who would like a kinder, gentler Kevin Smith. Jay and Silent Bob are nowhere to be seen.