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 | Video Store Clerk | New Jersey | Single Father

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

As of 2007, the only movie that Kevin Smith directed which is not part of his ViewAskview Universe series.

Goofs:

Continuity: When changing the baby's nappy/diaper, Ollie pours powder over his shirt and jacket. In next shots the layout of the powder on the shirt changes.

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:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Whatever Happened to Baby Gin? (#8.22)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

High

Very Sweet Movie

In New York, the young executive Oliver "Ollie" Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a successful PR of the music industry. He meets and falls in love for Gertrude Steiney (Jennifer Lopez), who soon gets pregnant. However, she dies in the childbirth and Ollie decides to return to his father's home in New Jersey. Pressed by the situation of lonely father, the workaholic Ollie blows-up in an important press conference and makes a fatal statement, losing his job and becoming blacklisted in his publicist career. He promises to be the "best father in the world" to the young Gertie, and stays single, grieving his beloved wife, without dating any woman for seven years and trying to retrieve a position of public relation. One day, he meets the rental clerk Maya (Liv Tyler), they become friends and she helps him to supersede his past life.

"Jersey Girl" is a very sweet movie about family, and honestly I could never expect such sensitive story from Kevin Smith. I like his work a lot, and I have all his movies in my collection. "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" are amazing, and I must confess that I was tired of "Jay and Silent Bob". The shift in his career could not be better. The story is great and very well balanced with drama, comedy and romance. Liv Tyler is fantastic, showing a great chemistry with Ben Affleck. George Carlin is great, without being corny, in the role of Bart Trinke. But the girl Raquel Castro is stunning: very bright and smart, she steals all the scenes and seems to be a future star. I really loved this movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Menina dos Olhos" ("Apple of the Eyes" – meaning something very dear")