“I am an admittedly huge fan of Kevin Smith, but I didn’t hold high hopes for this film. I wasn’t sure he could pull off the comedy-drama. Plus, he was ditching Jay and Silent Bob and “Jersey Girl” just seemed to smack of being some kind of “I’m all grown up now-look at me!” kind of film. I was totally wrong in my assumption and I’m glad I was.

Instead “Jersey Girl” has more heart up on the screen than any film I’ve seen in recent years. I mean, we’re talking sappy, sweet, heart wrenching sentimentality that takes balls as big as softballs to put into a film in this era of cynicism. Sad as this is to say, Affleck’s inspired acting and Smith’s tender script are just begging to be skewered by cynics. But I found myself believing in the writing and performances all the way.

“Jersey Girl” still has all of that great Kevin Smith dialogue but without the dick and fart jokes. Personally I don’t think anyone handles Smith’s dialogue better than Affleck and he really shines here. I was also really blown away by Liv Tyler’s performance as the smart and sexy Maya. Her characterization and witty handling of Smith’s dialogue have given me newfound respect for someone who has started to seem sort of…sleepy in her roles as of late. Hell, everyone in this film is incredible including J-Lo, 7-year old Castro and George Carlin who drops a drama bomb at the tail end of the film that is heart breaking. Yes, I said drama bomb. ”