In some ways, Jersey Girl is nothing we haven't seen before-a movie written and directed by Kevin Smith, an on-screen romance between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, and a sappy storyline centered around "being who you are."
But as Smith discards most of his cynicism, not to mention his staple sidekicks Jay and Silent Bob, to take on themes of love and loyalty, the alteration and combination of worn-out elements emerges as something new.
Fortunately, the audience is not subjected to too much of the Affleck-Lopez pairing as Lopez's character Gertrude Steiney dies in childbirth near the start of the film. While Lopez again proves as equally talented an actress as she is a singer-that being substandard all around-her scenes with Affleck, who plays her husband Ollie Trinke, provide mildly-scandalous entertainment value to anyone who actually cares that the real-life couple is now defunct.
Affleck matches Lopez's artificial performance in his initial scenes with her but picks up his act and eases into his role when playing opposite Liv Tyler and her slightly more believable video store clerk, Maya.
However, the true scene stealer and essentially the movie's savior is young actress Raquel Castro who precociously interprets Ollie's seven-year-old daughter Gertie, named after her dead mother. Gertie and her grandfather, the harsh-talking but soft-hearted Bart Trinke (George Carlin), better known as "Pop," bring comedy, honesty, and charm to the film, which, in the end, are its most valuable assets.
After Gertrude's death, Ollie throws himself into his work as a music publicist in New York and shoves off the newborn Gertie to be taken care of by Pop. After a major professional slip-up and the subsequent loss of his job, Ollie is forced to face the death of his wife, accept the responsibilities of fatherhood, and find a new life in his old home in New Jersey.
As Gertie is growing up and going to school, her friends provide some preciously perverted moments: Ollie concedes to exchange his suits for Carhartts and work for the town, digging and installing pipes alongside Pop and his two dumb-witted drinking buddies. However, Ollie continues to commute for job interviews, still longing for the fast-paced city life he shared with Gertrude. He is perpetually turned down, as his publicity flub years ago has made him an infamous legend.
With the forceful help of Maya, whom he meets when she hassles him for checking out an adult movie with his daughter in tow, Ollie begins to move on from the things of his past-his city life and his selfish ways-and dramatic climaxes ensue. While Smith may have been aiming for a bigger moral-something involving familial duties and self-realizations-this is where he fails. The acting is not strong enough to trick us into falling for the sentimentality of script.
Because of the context, Smith's interwoven humor is awkward at first, but eventually finds its rhythm. While Smith may be somewhat admirable for trying to reinvent romantic predictability, the places where his originality shines through make the contrasting clich?s all the more blatant. Hopefully, the inadequacy of Jersey Girl will move Smith to return to off-beat comedy and take his own film's tagline to heart: "Accept who you are."
Rating: 2.25 Polar Bears (of 4)