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 “You
can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just
might find, you get what you need.”
The Rolling
Stones may have sung those words back in 1969 on their classic
album “Let it Bleed,” but maybe the time has come for Ben Affleck
to start singing them too.
Let’s face
it, 2003 wasn’t exactly a banner year for the Oscar-winning co-writer
of “Good Will Hunting” (yeah, remember that?). Not only did his
much-publicized relationship to pop-diva Jennifer Lopez crash
and burn under the watchful eye of the media, but “Gigli,” the
first of two films that they made together, wound up being one
of the most critically reviled movies of the year (if not the
decade).
That may
be water under the bridge, but in a town where you’re only as
good as your last picture, there’s no doubt that what Affleck
needs right now is a hit. That hit could come in the form of “Jersey
Girl,” except for one thing. It just so happens to be the other
movie that he made with Jennifer Lopez.
Actually,
it’s not fair to refer to “Jersey Girl” as “the other Ben and
Jen movie.” For one thing, she’s only in it for the first 10 minutes,
and for another, she’s nowhere to be found in the film’s advertising
campaign. Admittedly, the latter decision was taken only after
“Gigli” tanked at the box office, but writer-director Kevin Smith
also tried to avoid the backlash by cutting out a scene where
the characters played by Ben and Jen got married!
So much for
life imitating art…
Despite the
effective damage control measures, moviegoers may still find it
hard to look past the aftermath of Hurricane “Bennifer” to appreciate
“Jersey Girl” for what it is. And hopefully they will, because
it’s actually pretty decent. Affleck gives what is easily his
most fully realized performance since 1997’s “Chasing Amy” (ironically,
also a Smith film), and the movie rises above its cheesy contrivances
to emerge as Smith’s most mature (and most moving) work to date.
Ollie Trinke
(Ben Affleck) is not a happy man. He used to be a hotshot music
publicist in New York City, but now he’s stuck in a dead-end job
in New Jersey after a devastating tragedy a few years ago forced
him to move back in with his working-class father (George Carlin).
Ollie’s adorable young daughter Gertie (Raquel Castro) is quite
happy living where she is, but he still longs to return to the
good life in Manhattan. That changes when he meets Maya (Liv Tyler),
a free-spirited video store clerk who teaches him that the true
meaning of happiness is already staring at him right in the face,
and she’s only 7 years old.
After a career
full of raunchy comedies (culminating with 2001’s “Jay and Silent
Bob Strike Back”), there’s no doubt that Kevin Smith has come
a long way since the indie hit “Clerks” made him a household name
with genre fans. Whether or not those fans will grow up with him
remains to be seen, but at least “Jersey Girl” represents a touching
accomplishment of personal pride (he dedicated the film to his
late father, loosely portrayed in the film by George Carlin).
Gone are the overbearing pop cultural references, and in are much
more serious domestic issues and some amusing celebrity cameos
from Jason Lee, Matt Damon and Will Smith (the latter of whom
serves as a running joke throughout the movie).
“Jersey Girl”
may be contrived and manipulative in the extreme, but thanks to
a charming cast, it ends up being more entertaining than not.
Ben Affleck digs deeper than ever before for the more dramatic
scenes (and the strain shows), but at least he is much more convincing
in the film’s lighter moments. He also has great chemistry with
Liv Tyler, who plays his sweet (but underdeveloped) love interest,
and George Carlin, who adds a surprising amount of depth to the
film as Affleck’s irascible father. The real treat here is Raquel
Castro, who not only steals every scene she’s in with her magnetic
star quality, but she also bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer
Lopez.
And speaking
of Miss Lopez, just how does “Jenny from the Block” fare in the
end? Without giving too much away, let’s just say that she and
Ben do generate a decent amount of chemistry for the brief period
of time that they share the screen together. Actually, they did
in “Gigli” too, and in all fairness, it wasn’t their fault that
the film flopped. It was just a bad movie, plain and simple, and
there wasn’t anything that they could have done to save it.
In the end,
maybe Affleck can learn something from his character in “Jersey
Girl.” After all, it’s never too late to pick up the pieces and
move on with your life, and while Affleck may not have gotten
what he wanted last year, maybe this film will give him what he
needs – a fresh start.
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