Day 10: Jersey Girl

Kevin Smith is one of my favorite directors. While many people don't appreciate his particular "style" (i.e. fart jokes and horrible camerawork), his talent for dialogue is one of the greatest, and has earned him a legion of fans with both the average moviegoer, and celebrities alike (Quentin Tarrantino, Robert Rodriguez, George Carlin, etc).  His ability to provide a calm and laid back set on his films is the reason why many of his actors, even those who have since become household names (hello, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Jason Lee) have continued to return his call and appear in even the smallest of roles.


The true mark of any great director is their willingness and ability to leave the comfort zone, and attempt something where they have no assurity of success.  For Kevin Smith, this was Jersey Girl.


A full 180 depature from his previous film entries, the film follows the story of workaholic media publicist in New York named Ollie (Ben Affleck) who falls in love with a beautiful woman (then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez), only to see her die during the birth of their daughter, leaving him to raise their daughter Gertrude (named after her mother).  Due to the contraints put on to him by both his job and his newborn daughter, even the help of his father Bart (George Carlin) is not enough to allow him to function properly, and he is dismissed from his job after publicly trashing a client (the brilliant choice of Will Smith) during a press conference he set up to promote the client's upcoming film release (Independence Day).


The film skips ahead years later and Ollie is living with his father in New Jersey, and raising his daughter, nicknamed "Gertie."  He now works, along with his father, as a civil servant for the Highlands Boroughs, where they reside.  After a strange encounter with a video clerk named Maya (Liv Tyler), and a successful speech he gives to a group of unhappy citizens convincing them to approve a neccessary but inconvenient work permit, he decides that he misses his previous job and tries to reconcile his former connections in the hope that an opportunity will arise.  This conflicts with his current situation, and the desires of his young daughter, and he is forced to make a choice between the two.


While Affleck hasn't been the most reliable performer in his career, he pulls off the role gracefully, which is helped by Smith's ability to write for his good friend.  Lopez's role is more of a cameo, which is a blessing, since the film's box office was unltimately hurt the most by the "Bennifer" breakup and the cinematic "turd" that was Gigli.  Raquel Castro was a charming find, portraying Gertie, and recently was able to show off her singing during the premier season of NBC's The Voice. Mike Starr and Steven Root both turn in nice, although small, roles as work friends of Ollie and his father, Bart.  And Jason Biggs has a nice role as Ollies former protege, who ends up being able to help his former mentor on his journey back into the PR world.


The real gem of the film is the performance of legendary comedian George Carlin.  Having previously acted in both films and television, Carlin has never been offered a notable role in a film before.  Carlin had previously portrayed the Cardinal Glick in Kevin Smith's Dogma (which is my favorite, and arguably the best of Smith's films).  Here though, he's able to show off an amazing range, showing a softer side than most people know him for. 

Raquel Castro and George Carlin in Jersey Girl

While many critics, and fans of Smith in general, were not happy with this entry into his canon of films, I find this to be one of Smith's most accessible and heartfelt films to date.  The film's message has an even deeper effect on me now that my newborn daughter has arrived, but I was charmed by the film even before the birth of my kids.


As always, feel free to use the following links to purchase your own copy on DVD (hopefully a nice BluRay will be released someday soon), or add the film to your Netflix list. For viewing pleasure, you can a great scene with Ollie talking to Gertie and her friend Bryan about what he has just witnessed.