Writer and director Kevin Smith embraces his warm and fuzzy side with this comedy drama about a man who learns a lot about life and love in the wake of a personal tragedy. Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a guy who seemingly has it made -- he has a great job as a music publicist with a major Manhattan public relations firm, and he's madly in love with his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez). Ollie is very much excited about the fact he and Gertrude are soon to become parents, but Ollie's joy turns to
despair when Gertrude dies in childbirth. Emotionally shattered, Ollie isn't sure what to do next, and he and his newborn daughter, Gertie, soon move to New Jersey to live with his father, Bart (George Carlin), who grows tired of playing babysitter after several months. Juggling his career with single parenthood proves to be more than Ollie can manage, and one day he's fired after he bungles a major press event. Unable to find work, Ollie eventually takes a dead-end job in New Jersey's public works department, and devotes himself to his daughter as he retreats from his own life. But after frequent visits to the local video store, he strikes up a friendship with Maya (Liv Tyler), a pretty girl who works behind the counter. As Ollie finally begins to come out of his shell, he's offered a chance to move back into the music industry, but he realizes that would mean moving back to Manhattan -- and Gertie (Raquel Castro), now seven years old, makes it clear she doesn't want to go. Jersey Girl also features cameo performances from Kevin Smith regulars Jason Lee and Matt Damon, and significantly is Smith's first feature not to include Jason Mewes and Smith himself as stoner archetypes Jay and Silent Bob. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Inspired by Smith's own awe and amazement at being a father, the movie is modest and entertaining, with a minimum of sentimental goo, and it demands little of us except a good-natured willingness to go with it.
The filmmaker drowns his trademark edgy stew of smutty humor, stiff acting and dime-store insight into human nature with a gravy of glutinous bathos, making for a singularly unpalatable dish.
This kind of weepy material works in the hands of melodrama masters like Douglas Sirk or Pedro Almodovar. But here, it's over-the-top and it's just horrible.
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.
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.
...this Miramax DVD release could have been just a bare-bones edition. Instead, it loads up the goods with the stuff Smith's fans have come to expect from his well-received Special Editions.
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.
Kevin Smith scores again. I hadnt seen this one yet for some reason. It only took me 4 years but this is why Kevin Smith is amazing. And Ben Affleck just needs to do Kevin Smith films and he will be okay. Wonderful movie.
Ollie: You're riding that Batmobile, aren't you?! How cool is that?Kevin Smith's weakest film by far. I'm not saying I hated it, but I expected more from probably my favorite director. I will say this: this is the perfect love story; simple, nothing new, yet incredibly predictable. I was disappointed with the formulaic
tone the film kept throughout. Aside from that, this film has great Kevin Smith humor and a brilliant script, which is why my rating is so high. We also have great cameos from Smith's previous films, including Jason Lee, Matt Damon and many others. Also, Ben Affleck and Raquel Castro were instantly likable. Overall, I enjoyed it, and it remains a solid Smith film. Highly recommended.Read more reviews at www.CreedsDelight.com
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