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MOVIES / ON DVD / JERSEY GIRL
Jersey Girl

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Jersey Girl (2004)

42%
31%
54%
N/A
N/A
N/A
42 %
Reviews Counted: 164 Fresh: 69  Rotten:95 Average Rating: 5.3/10
 
Consensus: Full of cloyingly sentimental cliches. Full of cloyingly sentimental cliches. more
 
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Theatrical Release: Mar 26, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $25,197,718
Synopsis:
Breaking from his signature slacker-underdog films like CLERKS, MALLRATS, and CHASING AMY, Kevin Smith delivers the feel-good family movie JERSEY GIRL. While Smith's pert one-liners and wryly ironic sense of humor are clearly present in the script, his casting choices (Jennifer Lopez... [More]
Breaking from his signature slacker-underdog films like CLERKS, MALLRATS, and CHASING AMY, Kevin Smith delivers the feel-good family movie JERSEY GIRL. While Smith's pert one-liners and wryly ironic sense of humor are clearly present in the script, his casting choices (Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck) and glossy aesthetic identify the film as a mainstream Hollywood crowd-pleaser. Affleck stars as Ollie, a powerful entertainment executive with a perfect wife (Lopez) and a beautiful Manhattan apartment. But when his wife dies in childbirth and his career fizzles to a halt, he humbly gives up his fast-paced Manhattan lifestyle for the benefit of his daughter Gurtie (Raquel Castro), who is 7 years old for the majority of the film. He moves to New Jersey to live with his father (George Carlin), finds a new romantic interest (Liv Tyler), and learns some lessons about what's important in life. A subplot about Will Smith keeps a string of Hollywood insider jokes and quick cameos (Matt Damon) running throughout the film, while a school play modeled after "Sweeney Todd" lends itself to some funny theatrical moments. An emotive pop soundtrack features music by Aimee Mann in addition to a handful of well-timed entries that help move the plot along ("Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" plays as Ollie sheepishly drives his U-Haul across the river from Manhattan to Jersey), rounding out JERSEY GIRL as a likeable comedy. Parents beware, Smith may have curbed his edginess for this one, but foul language abounds. [Less]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Ben Affleck, Raquel Castro, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Jason Biggs

Director: Kevin Smith
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith
Producer: Scott Mosier

DVD Info

Release:

Sep 7, 2004

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Kevin Smith - Director, Scott Mosier - Producer, Ben Affleck - Star
  • Featurettes - 1. Behind The Scenes Special
  • 2. Kevin Smith's Roadside Attractions
  • 3. A Conversation with Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

Mature and heartfelt, though not overly saccharine.

Full Review | Comment
09/24/07 08:03 AM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

It takes more than a couple of dirty one-liners to retain your edge in light, predictable fare.

Full Review | Comment
09/29/06 06:21 AM
Eric Melin
Lawrence.com
Ratings Image

Affleck is at ease in this down-to-earth drama in a way that he never seems to be in his action movies, and Castro seems like a genuine child instead of like a child actor.

Full Review | Comment
09/25/06 02:15 PM
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
07/22/06 03:41 AM
Anita Katz
San Francisco Examiner
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
07/22/06 03:41 AM
Film Threat
Ratings Image

In several ways Jersey Girl is more appealing than Clerks or Mallrats.... Nonetheless, it lacks the smart observational-humor edge and often thoughtful boldness -- and, most frustratingly, the promise -- of Chasing Amy or Dogma.

Full Review | Comment
04/05/06 05:45 PM
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com
Ratings Image

This is a movie about growing up and taking responsibility for one's actions and Affleck does a wonderful job.

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 07:50 PM
Don R. Lewis
Film Threat
Ratings Image

A romantic comedy seriously marred by a clunky plot and a couple of characters that are hard to sympathize with.

Full Review | Comment
07/20/05 05:11 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

Jersey Girl emerges as Kevin Smith's most polished effort to date, but not his funniest.

Full Review | Comment
06/20/05 12:18 PM
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
Ratings Image

People who find Smith's work too brazen or fringe will really fall for this picture, likewise those easily pleased by this genre will enjoy. Hardcore fans may be very upset by Smith doing something so ordinary and even mundane.

Full Review | Comment
04/02/05 11:01 PM
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Ratings Image

In a strange way, it's both the most mainstream and the most personal movie Smith has made to date.

Full Review | Comment
03/05/05 10:38 PM
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic
Ratings Image

Jersey Girl is like that new Liz Phair album ... it sometimes sounds unmistakably like Kevin Smith but you never quite believe he could be so platitudinous and predictable.

Full Review | Comment
01/27/05 12:27 PM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

Even as the critic in me raged against the clichés, I found a big old lump in my throat and blinked back a few tears.

Full Review | Comment
12/31/04 02:45 PM
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Ratings Image

Kevin Smith inserts enough of his special charm to make "Jersey Girl" a winner.

Full Review | Comment
09/09/04 03:57 PM
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal
Ratings Image

This is not the hard, cutting-edge Kevin. This is the soft and runny Kevin, trying (a little too hard) to work within the system. It's lame, man.

Full Review | Comment
08/08/04 08:38 AM
Harry Haun
Film Journal International
Ratings Image

'Quizá sea reciclado de otras tantas cintas por el estilo, pero el toque de Smith aparece para hacer de este ejercicio un recomendable filme sobre el acto de maduración.'

Full Review | Comment
07/20/04 04:37 PM
Jorge Avila Andrade
Moviola
Ratings Image

It’s every bit as enjoyable as [Smith's] previous attempts, but much more mature. Kevin Smith has grown up, and he’s grown-up well.

Full Review | Comment
07/20/04 01:46 PM
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
Ratings Image

[on Raquel Castro] If her career is half as successful as those of similarly talented kids Christina Ricci and Kirsten Dunst, she'll be quite the sensation.

Full Review | Comment
07/11/04 08:17 AM
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy
Ratings Image

Kevin Smith's safest movie to date, but italso his most adult, an attempt to move beyond the comic book fantasy world in which he has lived for so long and try something new.

Full Review | Comment
07/08/04 10:58 AM
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Ratings Image

It’s a nicely acted, competently made ‘dramatic comedy’ that might disappoint rabid Smith fans but is still a cut above the average Hollywood sugar-fest. Worth seeing.

Full Review | Comment
06/19/04 08:34 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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