Jersey Girl
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Why do people hate Ben Affleck? I’ve noticed that any movie that Affleck is in will be ripped apart before it is even seen. Has the man made awful movies? Absolutely, but so has Travolta, Deniro and Pacino. Anyone remember Battlefield Earth, Bloody Mama, and Gigli? Well look at that! 6 degrees of Affleck! Pacino was in Gigli along with Affleck. Only the 2 people that saw that movie I’m sure knew that. Now before I get even more hate mail, I want to say that I am in no way comparing Ben Affleck to any of these actors. All I am saying is I’m not going to pan a movie, or not go see it just because Affleck is in it. Everyone makes bad movies. According to the world consensus this was a bad movie. Another one to add to the outhouse, known as Ben Affleck’s career. Maybe I missed something while watching this, because I liked it.

Ben Affleck plays a new father. His wife (J-Lo) dies giving birth to their new daughter. He does not handle his PR job, new child, and death of his wife together very well. He gets fired from his job, leaving him living in his father’s (The great George Carlin) house, trying to raise the kid. While Affleck was once a high rolling PR representative to stars like Will Smith, he finds himself now in Jersey as city worker. This movie is about a city man trying to be the best father that he can, while moving on from the crap that life dealt him. That really sums it up.

The idea of a single parent raising a child is not a new idea. Movies from Baby Boom to Child’s Play show single parents taking care of their kids. Nothing new there. What Kevin Smith does however is make a movie about Ben Affleck’s character. He loses his job (to some that is their identity), to losing a wife, and trying to raise a kid, to living with your father and working construction. That is truly what this movie is about. Now how do we make that heartwarming and funny? That’s the trick. Kevin Smith is a very good director. Many of his films you either like, or despise. There is no in between. Personally I loved Mallrats and Clerks, but was not so into Chasing Amy. It had that Reality Bites kind of feel, and I did not like that movie either. All his movies however make the dialogue between the characters feel real. You’ll never have a line in his movies like “You complete me”. Screw that! What man would ever say that sappy shit to a woman? I wouldn’t no matter how bad I want to take them home for the night. I still have some dignity left.

Some Smith purists say this is his mainstream movie. “He sold out!!” I disagree. This movie still had the inside humor feel to it that all of Smith’s films carry. Like Chasing Amy this is a drama, but a humorous one. It is not for everyone, but to those that have children and a soul I think they will enjoy this. Think of this movie as a chick flick, that you wouldn’t mind taking one for the team for.

Biggest Reason to watch this movie: The School play scene.
Worst Aspect of the movie: Ben Affleck crying. Suck it up man. It was only J-Lo.
Better than: Steel Magnolia
Not as good as: Steel Magnolias 2: Blades of Steel
4 Trashcans (out of 5)

Added:  Saturday, April 09, 2005
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