Virtually all of the recent independent films have risen above the abyss of the unknown and into glory through their attention to character over plot due in part to budget constraints. Renting `The Good Girl' I was certain that I was about to witness another `little indie that could' not unlike 'In The Bedroom' or `Best in Show.' Instead I was perplexed by the actions of the Jennifer Aniston character Justine Last and though she was the protagonist felt more sorry for her pot-smoking husband Phil (John C. Reilly).
Possible Spoilers
Justine Last (Jennifer Aniston) was unlikable and all of her actions involve painting herself even further into corners. She is a cashier at Retail Rodeo where she almost surely makes minimum wage. She goes home at night and says a few rude words to her husband Phil about his pot addiction before hitting the sheets and doesn't appear to have the intelligence to think her way out her apparent nightmare. The audience never hears her narrate the dismal outlook she has on life and we never get much of a sense of how she ended up in her unfortunate position. Her smart solution is to take up with her colleague, a young 20-something named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) and before you know it they are involved in a relationship that consists of little more than casual sex.
Justine is one of those individuals who you loathe because she always wants to play the victim. Instead of thinking up brave and smart solutions to the problem at hand, she goes through all two hours of this tedious and tired film purposefully creating more chaos for herself in an effort to get your attention. You don't feel sorry for her because you assume that she could have chosen to say, go to college or get a job with some potential for upward mobility, rather than find ways to jump into the sack without her husband Phil finding out. You feel even less sorrow for Justine when Phil's best friend Bubba essentially forces himself on her to avoid telling Phil the sordid details of her affair with Holden. Instead of say, kicking him where it hurts, she basically just lays there and takes it.
It doesn't really help that on top of watching an individual who loves to play the victim, your strapped with Jennifer Aniston (a relative newbie in film) in the role as opposed to an actress who excels at playing dumbed down trailer trash like Kelly Lynch, Parker Posey, or Juliette Lewis. What you get with Aniston is a character who is too unintelligent to get out of her situation and who is also too uncharismatic to be liked by the audience in spite of her situation. Jennifer did try harder than any of the other 'Friends' have in their film attempts (hopefully, you were fortunate enough to miss `Serving Sara' unlike me) but she may want to invest in Brad's acting coaches if she wants to be any kind of force further down the road.
When Justine found out that she was pregnant and couldn't figure out which of the three potential fathers was involved, I wanted to scream. This type of plot has been done to the point where it deserves to just rest in peace. I was less than thrilled with the ending in which this pathetic shrew of a woman has a baby and all is well in the relationship with hubby Phil which we were told so many times was doomed. I felt sorry for the child who would most certainly learn that life doesn't really involve working your way out of a mess, but instead stuffing yourself further into a box.
So what was there to admire about `The Good Girl?' I did enjoy the trickle of comic relief brought in by Zooey Deschanel (Cheryl) and the movie may have improved had she played Justine Last. For this to be advertised as a black comedy was ludicrous though they must have been referring to Deschanel's scenes. Also admirable was the work by the always-dependable John C. Reilly. But, there's not much to like here. `The Good Girl' is a bland, unoriginal journey into the hearts of some vacuous characters. And it's not a journey that you would take willingly if you knew what rewards would await you at the end of the painfully long two hours.
5/10
Possible Spoilers
Justine Last (Jennifer Aniston) was unlikable and all of her actions involve painting herself even further into corners. She is a cashier at Retail Rodeo where she almost surely makes minimum wage. She goes home at night and says a few rude words to her husband Phil about his pot addiction before hitting the sheets and doesn't appear to have the intelligence to think her way out her apparent nightmare. The audience never hears her narrate the dismal outlook she has on life and we never get much of a sense of how she ended up in her unfortunate position. Her smart solution is to take up with her colleague, a young 20-something named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) and before you know it they are involved in a relationship that consists of little more than casual sex.
Justine is one of those individuals who you loathe because she always wants to play the victim. Instead of thinking up brave and smart solutions to the problem at hand, she goes through all two hours of this tedious and tired film purposefully creating more chaos for herself in an effort to get your attention. You don't feel sorry for her because you assume that she could have chosen to say, go to college or get a job with some potential for upward mobility, rather than find ways to jump into the sack without her husband Phil finding out. You feel even less sorrow for Justine when Phil's best friend Bubba essentially forces himself on her to avoid telling Phil the sordid details of her affair with Holden. Instead of say, kicking him where it hurts, she basically just lays there and takes it.
It doesn't really help that on top of watching an individual who loves to play the victim, your strapped with Jennifer Aniston (a relative newbie in film) in the role as opposed to an actress who excels at playing dumbed down trailer trash like Kelly Lynch, Parker Posey, or Juliette Lewis. What you get with Aniston is a character who is too unintelligent to get out of her situation and who is also too uncharismatic to be liked by the audience in spite of her situation. Jennifer did try harder than any of the other 'Friends' have in their film attempts (hopefully, you were fortunate enough to miss `Serving Sara' unlike me) but she may want to invest in Brad's acting coaches if she wants to be any kind of force further down the road.
When Justine found out that she was pregnant and couldn't figure out which of the three potential fathers was involved, I wanted to scream. This type of plot has been done to the point where it deserves to just rest in peace. I was less than thrilled with the ending in which this pathetic shrew of a woman has a baby and all is well in the relationship with hubby Phil which we were told so many times was doomed. I felt sorry for the child who would most certainly learn that life doesn't really involve working your way out of a mess, but instead stuffing yourself further into a box.
So what was there to admire about `The Good Girl?' I did enjoy the trickle of comic relief brought in by Zooey Deschanel (Cheryl) and the movie may have improved had she played Justine Last. For this to be advertised as a black comedy was ludicrous though they must have been referring to Deschanel's scenes. Also admirable was the work by the always-dependable John C. Reilly. But, there's not much to like here. `The Good Girl' is a bland, unoriginal journey into the hearts of some vacuous characters. And it's not a journey that you would take willingly if you knew what rewards would await you at the end of the painfully long two hours.
5/10
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