By: debbie lynn elias
I know, I know. After my take on “Gigli”, you’re all experiencing shock and awe that I am actually reviewing this latest piece (and hopefully the last) of the ongoing Bennifer saga, but I just couldn’t help myself. Nowhere near the disaster of that pathetic piece of junk called “Gigli”, despite a few shortcomings, “Jersey Girl” is an entertaining and enjoyable film and a substantial improvement to Affleck’s last outing, due totally to director Kevin Smith and the smart pairing of “Armageddon” co-stars Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck. Now those two have chemistry!
Ollie Trinke is a high powered New York publicist. Work is his life. His life is his work. Cold, callous and seemingly impervious to love, he suddenly finds himself completely bowled over when he meets and falls in love with Gertrude Steiney. They marry, settle down and everything is coming up roses for them – that is until Gertrude wants the picture perfect family with the white picket fence and Ollie wants to forge ahead into the publicity game. Eager to please Gertrude, Ollie arrives at a compromise agreeable to both. Sadly, that compromise comes to an end when Gertrude dies during childbirth leaving Ollie to raise the couple’s infant daughter, Gertie.
Filled with rage and unable to cope with a life spinning out-of-control, Ollie loses his job and finds himself crawling back home to his widowed father Bart in New Jersey with his with daughter Gertie in tow. And as should come as no surprise to Ollie, there’s no place like home. Adding another wrinkle in Ollie’s voyage of self-discovery and recovery is a beautiful witty grad student named Maya. As if it’s not hard enough to lose the love of your life, crawl back to dad and be single father to a precocious little girl, how the heck do you ever get back into the dating game, let alone fall in love, and all the while try to climb back into the New York rat race!
Kudos to Kevin Smith for his work here with Affleck. For whatever reason, Smith brings out the best in Affleck and does so here by just letting Affleck be himself and by giving him material that is clearly close to Smith’s heart and tugs on Affleck’s natural affinity with children. A devoted parent himself, Smith’s take on single father parenting is evidently joyous and dryly comedic all at the same time and Affleck carries that off to a tee, falling easily into the role of a loving father. Giving Affleck even more credibility and affability is pairing him with Liv Tyler. Having been the love interest in “Armageddon” there was already a well-established rapport between the two and one that was accepted and liked by the public. That chemistry is only intensified in “Jersey Girl” with and overall ease and joy befitting this more uplifting work. Between her beauty, her smarts and her gift for comedic timing, Tyler is without a doubt the spark behind the magic.
Adding pure charm to the film is Raquel Castro as 7 year old Gertie. Delightfully precocious with pitch perfect delivery and timing, she is poised to be the next Dakota Fanning. Giving a nice comedic balance to the work is George Carlin. As Ollie’s father Bart, Carlin is given the rare change to spread is acting wings, giving a well-rounded witty and acerbic performance that is more than just a crude joke or cameo intercut between scenes. He masters the wisdom of fatherly advice with a casual aplomb making everyone wish they had a man this wise for a father. (Guess I lucked out. I know my dad is that wise and wonderful!) And of course, what’s a Ben Affleck film without a cameo from his partner in crime, Matt Damon.
Smith wrote and directed “Jersey Girl” and while not typical Smith, he proves that he has a clear affinity for the material (he should, he wrote it based on his wife and daughter), taking the characters full circle, giving them some depth and substance anchored by smart dialogue and realistic situations, allowing them to develop naturally, learning from life’s little lessons, without ever getting too maudlin or too saccharine. Technically, the film far exceeds Smith’s earlier works such as “Chasing Amy” or “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”, due in large part to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. Graduating from chop shop staccato, there is now a fluidity with the camera as it fades and tracks with little disruption to the story.
And what of Jennifer? Cast by Smith at Affleck’s request, after the Bennifer fallout, Smith very wisely cut down Lopez’ already short screen time, eliminated a wedding scene and focused this story on Benaquel and Beniv. The result, a heartfelt, sweet and funny love letter to fatherhood.
Ollie: Ben Affleck Maya: Liv Tyler Bart: George Carlin Gertie: Raquel Castro
Written and directed by Kevin Smith. A Miramax Films release. Rated PG-13. (103 min)
