Aniston Ponders Life While Sleeping w/ Jake Gyllenhaal
Written: Sep 10 '03 (Updated Sep 18 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An Excellent Film from Miguel Arteta w/ Great Cast.
Cons: At Times, Film is a Bit Predictable on Some Spots.
The Bottom Line: "The Good Girl" is an excellent film from Miguel Arteta w/ Amazing Performances from the cast including Aniston, Gyllenhaal, Reilly, Nelson, & Deschanel. (4.5 out of 5).
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| thevoid99's Full Review: The Good Girl |
When people think of the landscapes of Middle America, they think of wheat fields, flat lands and everything that is American. For some, the tone of Americana seems very bleak with people figuring where to go or what to do. The concept of Americana seems great but the reality of it is pretty bleak, particularly for small town suburbs. In early 2002, filmmaker Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White captures the bleak, dullness of Americana in a small town in Texas in a movie about a woman in her early thirties desperately looking for an escape from her bleak, monotone life in “The Good Girl”.
“The Good Girl” is about a woman named Justine Last (Jennifer Aniston) who has been married to her high school sweetheart Phil (John C. Reilly) for ten years and has now become bored and frustrated with her life. She then meets a young aspiring writer named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) who brings her a new outlook into life but she becomes disturbed by his troubled personality as their relationship intensifies. Arteta and White capture not just bleakness in this small Texas town but add some light-hearted comedy where some town people react to their bleakness with sarcasm and other forms of hilarity. While a few elements in the film aren’t original, “The Good Girl” is an enjoyable, entertaining comedy-drama from Miguel Arteta and Mike White.
The film begins with Justine looking at her bleak, drab life in a small town in Texas where she works at a retail store called Retail Rodeo with a bored, strict manager named Jack Field (John Caroll Lynch), a bible-quoting security officer named Corny (screenwriter Mike White), a sarcastic freak named Cheryl (Zooey Deschanel), and an upbeat, energetic older woman named Gwen (Deborah Rush). Life at the Retail Rodeo is often boring for Justine and her co-workers except for Gwen and new checkout counter Holden (named after a character from “Catcher in the Rye”) just stands there and work. Justine’s life at home isn’t even great either since her husband Phil and his friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson) just paint houses for a living and go to their house and get stoned on marijuana.
Justine befriends Holden as he tells her that he’s an aspiring writer and is a hardcore fanatic of “Catcher in the Rye” as their friendship blooms. Justine however, is becoming frustrated with Phil’s laziness at home since he doesn’t do anything and not fix the antenna on their TV. Finally after years of frustrations, she and Holden begin to have an affair. Justine wants to keep it secret but Holden wants it to be a bit open but Justine begins to have some sort of regrets towards the affair, especially since Gwen died a few days after she dropped her off in the hospital due to food poisoning. Confused, Justine isn’t sure to turn to as she considers talking to Corny who invites her to a Bible-studies group for couples.
Justine continues to have an affair with Holden as he talks about his dull parents (Roxanne Hart and punk legend John Doe of X) and suddenly, Justine sees Bubba’s truck at the motel where they have their secret affair. Justine continues to see Holden at work while Cheryl takes Gwen’s job as a makeup artist where she gives ladies horrific makeovers. Justine and Phil decide to go to a Bible-studies meeting but once they arrived, Justine sees the motel manager and leaves with Phil, as he isn’t sure what’s going on. Making things worse is Bubba who found out about the affair. Bubba revealed for years, he envied both Phil and Justine since they had a perfect life but when he learned about Justine’s affair, he realized that there’s no such thing as perfection. He blackmails Justine into sleeping with him so he wouldn’t tell Phil about the affair. Holden unfortunately sees Justine with Bubba and becomes distraught.
Justine is now filled with guilt as she sees the tortured, troubled personality of Holden and wants to end the affair. Holden becomes troublesome at work as Justine learns she is pregnant and for Phil, who’s suspects himself with low sperm count, is ecstatic as she learns why she loved Phil in the first place. Then, money was stolen at the Rodeo Retail where Jack suspects Holden and Justine is now at a crossroads for what she wants in her life.
What makes “The Good Girl” work is the way Miguel Arteta make all the elements of the film entertaining enough while being real. Arteta and cinematographer Enrique Chediak give the film a drab look but with some life in the scenes with Aniston and Gyllenhaal. Though at times, the pacing is a bit slow and a few elements of the film aren’t original, it makes up for it with elements of comedy and drama without going too far or too melancholic. Mike White’s screenplay delivers in its promise and story where he won a Best Screenplay Award for the Independent Spirit Awards. White’s script gives the film its soul while Arteta helps enhance it with his spellbinding direction.
Jennifer Aniston delivers her best film performance of her career as she captures the frustrations and desperation of Justine while being funny and looking great in the process. Jake Gyllenhaal is superb as the troubled, enigmatic Holden while his scenes with Aniston are filled with life and this is easily one of Gyllenhaal’s best performances that stand up with his dark turn in “Donnie Darko”. John C. Reilly gives a funny, heartwarming performance as Phil, who is dumb and a bit of a pig but at the same time is caring. Reilly’s approach is both funny and dramatic that is played masterfully while his scenes with Aniston are filled with not just turmoil but warmth in other scenes as well.
The supporting performances are also worth mentioning. While the performances of Roxanne Hart, John Doe, and John Caroll Lynch were small, they do work well and serve a purpose to the film while Deborah Rush stands out as the fun, energetic Gwen who finds life through work and vegetarianism, which becomes the irony to her character in the end. Although screenwriter Mike White’s role was small, he delivers some laughs for his brash portrayal as the innocent Corny who quotes up hilarious Bible stuff without being too preachy. Zooey Deschanel delivers a great performance as Cheryl as she delivers hilarious one-liners on the intercom or to customers while looking like a punk rocker in the film. The film’s most hilarious and inspiring performance goes to Tim Blake Nelson as the dim-witted Bubba who not only plays a sympathetic, idiotic friend to Phil but his scenes with Aniston are priceless. He manages to steal the show in a scene with Aniston who proved that if a guy looks like that could score with Aniston, then there’s hope for everyone.
“The Good Girl” is an excellent film with heart and laughs along the way. With Arteta’s complex direction and White’s warm screenplay, “The Good Girl” is both realistic and entertaining at the same time. With amazing performances from Aniston, Gyllenhaal, Reilly, Deschanel, and Nelson, the film carries spirit on all levels despite a few unoriginal ideas and a slow pace. For a film with laughs, heart, and realism, “The Good Girl” stands out easily with bring a bit of soul for the moviegoer.
Related Reviews:
Office Space (1999):
http://www.epinions.com/content_71197691524
Almost Famous (2000):
http://www.epinions.com/content_48765898372
Cherish (2002):
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Jake Gyllenhaal Film Reviews:
Bubble Boy (2001):
http://www.epinions.com/content_104759856772
Donnie Darko (2001) (Now Updated w/ DVD Tidbits):
http://www.epinions.com/content_102579146372
Jake/Older Women Trilogy:
Lovely & Amazing (2001):
http://www.epinions.com/content_110202687108
Moonlight Mile (2002):
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Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
thevoid99
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Member: Steven Flores
Location: Smyrna, Georgia
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