Like nosy bystanders at the scene of an accident or an annoying poltergeist who really should be heading into the light, Jersey Girl is all about moving on. Just not in any of those ways and not only in terms of what you see on screen. Behind the scenes, too, this sweet and funny drama signifies a big step for director Kevin Smith and his loyal leading man Ben Affleck.

For Smith this movie represents his intention to break away from the wacky, geeky stoner world he created for Clerks and stuck with right through to his last movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Fantasy is out; movie and comic book trivia, seriously curtailed.

With 10 years as a filmmaker under his ample belt, Kevin Smith is ready for depth and emotion: something with a bit more heart. That doesn’t man he’s getting all mushy on us – far from it. There are still plenty of jokes and fan-boy references to Star Wars and the like. It’s just that, for Jersey Girl, he finally created characters we not only like but actually care about too.

For Affleck the film marks his return to the land of the living after the tiresome exposure of his romance with Jennifer Lopez. It was Smith who introduced the two, Smith who set them on the path that led to Gigli and heartbreak, and now Smith who gives his old mate the opportunity to spread himself as an actor and return to the public’s good graces. There’s no avoiding the fact that Lopez is in the movie but, the good news is, she dies 10 minutes in and, from that moment on you can begin the pleasant business of forgetting all about her.

Jersey Girl opens with hotshot music publicist Ollie (Affleck) wining, dining, marrying and impregnating the girl of his dreams (Lopez). The fairy tale ends there when she dies in childbirth, leaving Ollie alone with a beautiful baby girl he has no idea how to care for.

Within a month the pressures of his upturned life see Ollie fired from his dream job and forced to move away from Manhattan to live with his dad (George Carlin) in an underwhelming suburb of New Jersey. Seven years later he’s stuck in a rut, madly in love with precocious daughter Gertie (Raquel Castro), but still grieving for his wife and trapped in a menial job, obsessed with returning to the Big Apple and his former lifestyle. Though everything he needs to be happy is easily reach in New Jersey, Ollie is unable to let go of his past and unwilling to adapt to his circumstances – not even when he begins the most tenuous of romances with the beautiful, smart, quirky girl (Liv Tyler) who works in his local video store. Slowly they come together, though nothing is certain and everything important remains unsaid. What they do say is cool and casual. But if you look into their eyes, you can see so much more. Important as it is, the romance angle remains secondary to Ollie’s relationship with his cute-as-a-button daughter and boozly-gruff yet wise and disarming father.

An emotional yet unsentimental story that deals with real-life stuff in a very natural way, Jersey Girl is close in style to Chasing Amy, only much more grown up, more involving and ultimately satisfying. Though Affleck gives it his all and is never less than credible, his co-stars regularly steal his thunder. Beloved in the States, potty-mouthed comedian stand-up comic George Carlin does an amazing job with an uncharacteristically complex role. As Gertie newcomer Raquel Castro is so adorable you’ll want to snatch her off the screen and raise her yourself. But it’s luscious Liv Tyler who does the best work – her timing, sensitivity, beauty and all round fearless as an actress combining to consolidate her place on the Hollywood A-list.

This is romance and relationship comedy-drama as only Kevin Smith can do, cleverly understated with lots of big laughs and a genuine affection for it’s characters and their lives. The icing on the cake is that this movie is as accessible for men as it is for women, making it probably the perfect date movie of the year…. 4/5

James Franco: I’ve directed two small budget films this year. One is called The Ape and one is called Fool’s Gold. That’s just kind of been for fun. They’re based on plays I wrote with a partner and I used people from the theater group that were in the play. The nice thing about these two is I financed them and there’s really no pressure to succeed. I don’t need it. I can support myself on the acting and I don’t need this to break in or anything.

Q: Will you take them to festivals?

James Franco: I think so, yeah. But they’re mine, so one is in the editing stage and it’s pretty good. I think we can take it to festivals, The Ape. And then we just wrapped the other one a week ago. If if I don’t like it, I can just shelve them.

Q: Are you acting in them as well?

James Franco: Yeah, yeah.

Q: Is that daunting?

James Franco: No, actually, I was very relaxed. I had a great DP, Dave Klein, he worked on all the early Kevin Smith films, and the editor, Scott Mosier, worked on all the Kevin Smith films and produced them. They’re very experienced guys and I could depend on them. I guess I found it was kind of a way to direct. If I was in the scene with the people, I could kind of direct them by acting with them in a way. So it was a very relaxed set.