Movie Review - Jersey Girl
- Alex
Now-Standard Mini-Review: Go. Go now. See this movie.
I'll 'fess: I like Kevin Smith movies. His humor and my humor, they're friends. That said, Jersey Girl is his best
movie. I feel like this is his first one where the story came first, and the jokes second. And it shows. Yes, it's also
a very cheesy movie, riddled with cliches, but I personally think that helps the story, rather than detracting from it. Smith has managed
to retain his sense that he's just an average dude making a movie - at times it feels like a movie that any of us could make - while at
the same time making a complete movie.
The Plot: Ollie Trinkie (Ben Affleck) is a music PR rep who becomes... separated... from his wife after the birth of their
first child, Gertie (Raquel Castro). He loses his job in NYC,
moves back in with his father (George Carlin), and starts raising his daughter. The movie is really all about Ollie - and how he
deals with being a father, and balancing his new life with his old perception of himself as a big city mover and shaker.
Ben Affleck positively shines in this movie. He's given a chance to play a regular guy for once, and he just absolutely nails
the part. Smith tends to cast actors he knows can handle his quick dialogue, and Affleck doesn't at all disappoint. The lines just
snap off his tongue, and he carries the humor well, but more importantly, he carries the emotional scenes just as well. There's a
scene where he's talking to his infant daughter about how much he misses her mom, and it's just perfect. You believe the guy all the
way. Basically, if you liked his turn in Good Will Hunting, this is twice as good. If not more.
George Carlin is fantastic in his role as well - he interacts so well with Castro that you just have to love him as a Grampa, while
at the same time channeling Carroll O'Connor enough to consistently refer to his son as "shithead". It's good stuff. And in Liv Tyler
it seems that Smith as finally found a female actress who can handle his dialogue. Joey Lauren Adams was good in Chasing Amy,
Liv is better.
The other really notable cast members are Stephen Root and Mike Starr, as Carlin's work buddies. Root, of course, is either
Milton from Office Space, or Jimmy James, depending on your preference. Starr has been in a ton of movies, but for me he's
Frankie from Miller's Crossing. Good times. Both are great, but Root is hilarious in a very understated way. He's probably the
best actor in the film... fantastic casting choices on both, because when at one point when Castro refers to the two as her "uncles",
Affleck responds: "Those people aren't your uncles - they're barely even your peers." Great stuff.
There are also some great cameos. Like this one:
Normally I wouldn't want to ruin a cameo, but Jason Lee in a porn mustache was too good to resist. Speaking of not ruining cameos,
there's one late in the film that's fantastic. I only bring it up to mention that there's a reference to a "robot movie" that's actually
a reference to a movie that said cameo person has coming out this summer. It's almost too clever, which means it's perfect.
I'm not gonna lie to you - this is a date flick. It's almost a chick flick. Except for the fact that there's still plenty of
potty-mouth toilet humor. It's just toned down a little from vulgar to risque. So don't expect Clerks. But you wouldn't
be far off calling it a cross between a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie and a Coen Bros. movie. That's my best pigeonhole. And if you're
a father, I suspect you should be required to see this movie. Smith dedicates it to his with a photo still at the end that's both
poignant and ridiculous. Just his style.
Oh, and Jennifer Lopez is in this movie. But not for very long.
Finally, while I was cruising for pictures for this flick, I came across the MPAA rating for it:
Frank dialogue? Yeah, that's threatening. If they're going that far, I think they should be separating out kinds of violence too.
I'd rather be warned of scenes of decapitation than of frank dialogue.
In any event, go see this movie. I have no hesitation in calling it my favorite of 2004 so far. Seriously.
-- 3/31/2004
