The Good Girl (2002)

From my favorite movies..

Expected more

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

About a year and a half ago, around the same time that my love for movies turned into an addiction, I fell in love with IMDb and simultaneously decided that I was going to watch every Jake Gyllenhaal movie made (I happened to love him also). So when I sat down to watch this movie I really had no idea what to expect at all. What I learned over the next 90 minutes was the following: 1. Jake Gyllenhaal is not the focal point in this story 2. Jennifer Aniston can be a hell of a good actress when she applies herself and 3. Sometimes good monologue is not enough to save a film. The Good Girl has all the makings of a good movie. A solid cast, an experienced director, and a gifted writer. Yet something goes awfully wrong in the movie. It aims for a sort of nonchalant humor and while it is at times funny, more often than not it is painfully boring. You might end up walking away wondering 'Why, why did I see that?' Or you might find yourself appreciating the dry bits of humor and Aniston's character's reflections on her life, or lack there of. But the way that I like to examine the viewer value of a film is to ask yourself what you took away from it. And unfortunately, just like in the movie itself, nothing much changed from start to finish except an unsatisfied emptiness that had developed in the pit of my stomach by the time the credits had arrived to say, "It's Over."

I'm sick of films like this being branded as comedies. I've already sat through 'Punch Drunk Love' and found it as funny as urinating down one's trouser leg at New Years....'Royal Tenanbaums'? More like 'Seeing someone being hit with a car is funnier' 'I Love Huckabees'? More like 'I love watching films where Americans act really neurotic about nothing in particular'.This one has Donnie Darko in it! Break out the tissues, because I'm gonna have to wipe my eyes dry with the mirth! My BROWN EYE that is...there are no funny parts to this film. You've got Jennifer Aniston as the unhappy Missus who goes off with Donnie Darko, and the subsequent shenanigans...none of which strike me as especially funny...Also the ending...redemption? understanding? How about 'I thought this was a romcom that would result in a shag, but didn't?' PISH

Recap: Justine feels like her life is prison. She is stuck in a job that she hates, and stuck in a marriage that she resents. Her husband is more of a pothead than a painter. But one day there is a young new cashier at her job, Holden. He wakes up feelings in Justine that she hasn't felt in a long time. Curiosity, closeness. Desire. They start to have an affair but then guilt strikes Justine. She feels guilty for abandoning her friends, she feels guilty for abandoning her marriage and finally she doesn't know what to do. Stay in her marriage or run with Holden, but Holden shows to be more fragile than herself. And in the midst of this, she is suddenly pregnant.Comments: Much more of a drama than of anything else. It is listed as a comedy and a romance too, but it isn't very funny, and not very romantic either. In my opinion, just because one of the ingredients is marriage and adultery, it isn't a love story. This is really a movie about being stuck in one place with no expectations, coming to resent it and being desperate to leave or change it, by any means. It is a drama, don't expect anything else.I had my hopes for a bigger element of comedy, especially with accomplished comedians Jennifer Aniston and John C Reilly leading the cast, so it didn't meet many of my expectations. It wasn't bad, but not very good either. The only fun parts sprung from the equally bored character Cheryl, played by Zooey Deschanel, who tries to live up her day by breaking all the rules.Otherwise it is pretty dark, full with misery. It is not a feel good movie, and it never really changes gear. Justine just stumbles along the story, from event to event, scene to scene, more or less in misery. But still in misery all the way. Not very uplifting to watch. This is only for those who like their stories full of melancholy, not anyone else. Do not, like me, get fooled by the cast, to think it is something else.5/10

I'm sure allot of people can empathise with this film, as I'm sure all of us have felt trapped and fed up with the way our lives are going at some point or another.Jennifer Aniston plays Justine, and in my opinion gives a brilliant performance as we not only empathise but feel sorry for her as her Husband spends every night in front of the TV with his friend getting stoned. This made me understand why she started an affair with Holden - also wonderfully played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Holden comes off as a dark and disturbed character who is also fed up with the way his life is going, even though he comes off this way he is still a very likable character. All of the characters in this film seem to be frustrated and trapped in some way and that's where i think all of us can relate to the film in one way or another.Its hard to tell whether the film is a drama or a comedy. The film is very deep giving the plot of the story yet there are a few touches of humour within the film.One of Jennifer Aniston's best pieces of work and i recommend this film to a mature audience.