Jersey Girl (2004)

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer (WGA):

Kevin Smith (written by)

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Forget about who you thought you were, and just accept who you are.

Plot:

After his career is sidelined from an unexpected tragedy and a personal blowup, a single man must take care of his precocious daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Publicist | New Jersey | Video Store Clerk | Public Relations

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Betty Aberlin	...	Teacher
Matt McFarland	...	Boy #1
Sarah Stafford	...	Girl #1
Paulie Litt	...	Bryan (as Paulie Litowsky)
Christian Fan	...	Boy #3
Victor Chavez	...	Boy #4
William Mace	...	Boy #5
Raquel Castro	...	Gertie Trinke
Ben Affleck	...	Ollie Trinke
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith	...	Susan (as Jennifer Schwalbach)
Jennifer Lopez	...	Gertrude Steiney
George Carlin	...	Bart Trinke
Stephen Root	...	Greenie
Mike Starr	...	Block
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Doctor #1

Also Known As:

Fatherhood Project (USA) (working title)
Untitled Kevin Smith Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for language and sexual content including frank dialogue.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:6 | Portugal:M/12 | Germany:6 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIA | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) (certificate #39360) | USA:R (original rating) | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Kevin Smith] [Comics]Ollie and Gertie refer to the street sweeper as the Batmobile.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Ollie Trinke exits the Holland Tunnel circa 1995, three American flags are suspended over the tunnel entrance. These flags were not put up until after 11 September 2001.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Teacher: Everyone, please take your seats. You heard the bell. You know what it means. Last week, the assignment was to write an essay about your family. Who they...
Teacher: [class: "Are!"] And what they...
Teacher: [class: "Mean to us!"] Excellent droning.

Movie Connections:

References "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Lets Stay Together

Enjoyable Even If Its Not Original

Jersey Girl is an enjoyable film to watch, even if it is a little derivative. Ben Affleck plays Ollie Trinke, a Manhattan music publicist whose life is turned upside down when his pregnant wife (Jennifer Lopez) dies in childbirth, leaving him a single father. Moving to his father's house in a Jersey suburb, Ollie and his daughter Gertie try to get accustomed to the new lifestyle as Ollie meets a local woman (Liv Tyler) who helps change his look on life. The plot is nothing new but the film is still pretty good. I thought this film was going to be really bad but I was surprised. Its not an Oscar quality film, its just a nice to film to watch if you have nothing better to do. Ben Affleck's performance was actually not bad and its watch able. Liv Tyler performance was very good and she really showed she has some talent. Raquel Castro plays Gertie and she does an alright job but she is no Dakota Fanning. Jason Biggs has a very small role and he does a decent job. Jennifer Lopez isn't in the film for very long, which is good as her performance isn't very good. Matt Damon and Jason Lee both have cameos. Kevin Smith tries a new type of film and he does a good job. The only problem I had with Jersey Girl was that it wasn't very original. Most of the dialog had been used in previous films like Kramer vs. Kramer. The story is good even if it is a little unrealistic and unoriginal. The running time is only 102 minutes long so unless you really hate Affleck, its not too much of a pain to watch. The film is also very predictable so its disappointing that Kevin Smith didn't try something new. There are a lot of funny moments as well as sad moments that may get to you. In the end, this is a predictable, safe film to watch and one that can easily be enjoyed. Rating 7/10, worth checking out.