Jersey Girl - Review.

“My dad says that life can be split into two categories. New Jersey and New York”.

There are movies that completely shatter your expectations. Often these movies star actors, which usually do something completely different, or they are directed by directors, who normally make movies with very different themes. Reign Over Me was very serious and not something you would normally expect from Adam Sandler. Stranger Than Fiction and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are similar movies, starring actors, whose main occupation have formerly been comedies. Jersey Girl does the same thing.

Kevin Smith is the man behind movies, such as Clerks, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Backand Zack and Miri Make a Porno. These are all comedies, containing dialogue based humor, which mainly relates to a younger audience. Some find the so-called Viewaskewniverse hilarious, while some regard it as juvenile and immature. However, I would be surprised if both audiences couldn’t appreciate Jersey Girl.

The movie starts out similar to Spanglish. The main character’s daughter reads a school essay, which tells the story of her life with her father. Her mother died giving birth to her, leaving her father (Ben Affleck) to raise her alone. The father, Ollie, doesn’t want to face that his baby depends on him and he distances himself from her. This causes an angry outburst in front of reporters, which results in him being expelled from the music industry for good. He becomes a street sweeper, the same job as his father (George Carlin) possesses. Ollie is very bitter that he’s lost his high profile job, which affects his relationship with his daughter. His father has to put him in his right place and Ollie finally realizes that he has to take responsibility and adapt to his new situation. The story escalates from there, until we finally realize that Ollie has been secretly bitter that the mother and his daughter have taken his ‘ideal life’ away from him. Eventually, Ollie comes to terms with his current situation and accepts his new role in life – a father.

I’m pleased to say that Jay and Silent Bob don’t make an appearance in this movie. Holden McNeil and Banky are also gone, which seems like a statement from Smith. This isn’t that kind of film. Like Reign Over Me this movie differs from its heritage by being serious. UnlikeClerks this movies actually has something to say. The sole purpose of this movie isn’t to entertain via humor, like Smith’s previous works, but to entertain via strong emotional scenes, good acting chemistry and a meaningful message. The former immature humor has been replaced with a more mature kind of humor.

Ben Affleck does a surprisingly good job as a loving father and the chemistry between him and Raquel Castro (the daughter) is amazing. I normally don’t think much of child actors, but Castro really impressed me. Besides, she was adorable.
George Carlin plays the role of the working-man-grandfather. Don’t expect to see any typical Carlin humor, though Carlin does have his moments.
Ollie’s girlfriend is played by Liv Tyler (Lord of the Rings). Her eccentric and slightly kooky character is very lovable and very well played at that.

This movie is properly sprinkled with very emotional, humoristic and heartbreaking scenes, which gives the movie a boost when needed, and maintains the viewer’s attention.

Jersey Girl is very unlike Smith. I was looking forward to watching a comedy you didn’t really need to commit too, but I ended up watching a descent movie with a nice message. Ollie spent the first eight years of his life with his daughter, longing for a life that was long gone. He wanted the high profile, glamorous, New Yorker life back, without realizing that everything he really needed and loved was right there – in New Jersey.