- You gotta love it when you sit down and read a review and nod your head, agreeing and understanding exactly the point reviews are trying to make. That’s what it’s like reading positive reviews of Jersey Girl. You think, “They GET it. They understand the vibe Kevin was going for with this film.” And sure, while the purists can find little flubs here and there that don’t make sense as far as plot decisions, as a piece this film succeeds, due to the swift writing and outstanding performances throughout. Here’s two more folks that GET it:
…For those that have written Affleck off after his “Gigli” debacle last summer (a film that isn’t that bad, but it made excellent copy), I beg you to see “Jersey Girl” and tell me that this misunderstood actor isn’t excellent. Ollie is a thorny role, balancing volatile selfish needs with sitcomy new dad material (there is the requisite dirty diaper scene), and Affleck completely inhabits his character from the get go. You believe him in this painful situation, and in this, his fifth collaboration with Smith, the actor is as loose and appealing as ever. As a vengeful angel in Smith’s brilliant “Dogma,” Affleck really opened up as an actor, and performed at a career best. “Jersey Girl” represents another stellar collaboration with Smith; the two perfectly in tune the entire run of the show.
Supporting turns by young Raquel Castro (who has got Lopez’s mannerisms down pat), a cantankerous and delightful George Carlin, and a lovable Liv Tyler add to the experience. Reteaming for the first time since 1998’s “Armageddon,” Tyler and Affleck make a serene on-screen couple, and their flirtatious interplay in “Jersey Girl” does wonders to erase memories of the unappetizing animal crackers sequence in the Michael Bay blockbuster asteroid film. All is forgiven, you two.
Normally when a director veers off course this severely (I mean, come on, this film is PG-13 for heavens sake!), it’s a train wreck. But Smith is a fantastic filmmaker, and even without The Cocknocker, he’s a talent that could pretty much cover any genre without getting in over his head. If the solid “Jersey Girl” is any indication, his future looks very bright.
THE ONION
…Though Smith loses many of his past efforts’ familiar trappings—Jay and Silent Bob are now confined to the production-company logo—Jersey Girl plays to Smith’s strengths like no film since Clerks. It’s never better than when the plot gets discarded and the cast (which also includes Liv Tyler as a fetching video-store clerk) simply hangs out, trades dialogue, and prepares for an age-inappropriate school performance from Sweeney Todd. When the plot gets picked up, it moves to the beat of just about every other fatherhood comedy of the last 20 years. But even when Smith pulls out the clichés, they’re clearly clichés he believes. Jersey Girl’s sincerity and low-key charm steer it through the awkward patches, although it’s hard not to wince when a conflicted Affleck tucks his daughter into bed to the accompaniment of Bruce Springsteen’s “My City Of Ruins.” Smith has been caught in a shitstorm he didn’t create, and it’s a shame he has to fight so vigorously for a film that, judged on its own merits, easily ranks among his best. —Keith Phipps
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