I am a long time Kevin Smith fan, having discovered Clerks and Mallrats on home video back in the day, and following his films up to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. But for some reason, I skipped over Jersey Girl. For one, Jersey Girl was the first Kevin Smith film that had nothing to do with the characters Jay and Silent Bob. And being the immature fanboy that I was, I wanted nothing to do with any "serious" Kevin Smith project. Secondly, Jersey Girl happened in the middle of "Bennifer," Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's much publicized romance. It was overkill. "Aw, aren't they the sweetest couple ever? And look! They're doing a movie together! How cute!" It's not their fault, but I was just plain sick of hearing about them at the time. Thirdly, I'm not a Ben Affleck fan. Nothing against the guy; I just don't care for his acting. Maybe I just can't shake the impression of seeing him in Dazed and Confused, but it feels like he hasn't grown out of that character, at least not in the Affleck films I've seen so far, which to be fair doesn't include Good Will Hunting. (I'll get around to it...) I'm also not a Jennifer Lopez fan. Don't care for her music, and at the time she was just over-exposed. Not her fault again, but too much was too much. And lastly, I was under the (wrong) impression that the entire film was centered around their relationship; one of those self-indulgent "Look at us!" romantic comedies. And I wanted nothing to do with that at all.
So I skipped Jersey Girl and waited for the return of Jay and Silent Bob and the Star Wars reference filled yuck yuck movies from Kevin Smith I'd come to know and love. But I've been getting into Kevin's work big time lately by listening to his many podcasts, and immersing myself in his Twitter feed as often as possible. His Q & A dvds have been some of the best things I've rented from Netflix so far this year. He seems very down to earth and likable, and getting his perspective on things has definitely helped to reverse some of the media-fed false impressions placed upon him as of late. All by way of saying, I was in a movie store yesterday, and I decided to finally give Jersey Girl a shot. It was on super clearance, and for $5, I couldn't go wrong. Hell, I caved and bought the Friday the 13th remake for $6 in the same trip, so picking up a Kevin Smith movie, even if I ended up hating it, surely would be less guilty than paying money to own the Friday the 13th remake travesty.
But to my surprise, I ended up really liking Jersey Girl. It had a lot of heart, and not the schmaltzy, gimmicky heart I expected, though it did toe the line at times admittedly. It is, after all, a romantic comedy at it's core, and although there aren't any "Awkwardly getting ready for the big date" montages, or clumsy ice skating scenes, there are a few cliched moments. But they're few and far between, and it was an honest portrayal of a single parent trying to balance life. That's a big credit to Kevin, because this was the first time he really created a piece of fiction. Clerks, Mallrats etc. were steeped in personal experiences. They're fictional and imaginative, of course, but they're the kinds of things friends come up with after a long night of goofing around. I love those films, but they're essentially jokes layered around a flimsy at best and mostly secondary story. Jersey Girl is pure story, with a few jokes thrown in. But it works. Having listened to many hours of podcasts and interviews, Kevin's voice really shines through with the dialogue in Jersey Girl. He's not a single parent in real life, but he is a parent, with a young daughter, and the built-in conflict of his career and his duties of fatherhood; the same essential conflict that Ben Affleck's character faces in Jersey Girl. So Kevin is still writing from experience; it's just a far more grown up experience.
Jersey Girl didn't change my opinion of Ben Affleck. He still doesn't light the torch for me. That's not to say he was bad, but the problems I've always had with his performances are still present. Interestingly enough, he seemed to have far more chemistry with Liv Tyler than with Jennifer Lopez. Liv is a better actress, so that may have something to do with it, but it's kind of interesting given the fact that Ben and Jennifer were actually a couple at the time. But then, I've always liked Liv Tyler's acting, and just as Jersey Girl didn't shake my opinion of Ben Affleck's acting, it hasn't changed my opinion of Liv Tyler's acting either. She breathed life into a somewhat stagnant character. George Carlin was perfectly cast. Who knew he was a good actor, as well as a hysterical comedian? He is missed. Stephen Root will always be Milton in my heart, but he was great as well, especially coupled with Mike Starr. Jason Biggs had a relatively small but fitting role, although the stink of American Pie hadn't quite washed off yet. He's still playing the nice guy who's a little too awkward for his own good, despite his best intentions. Raquel Castro was excellent. I'll have to see if she's done anything since. But she really grasped the material and picked up on her character better than many adult actors do, and certainly better than most child actors.
All in all, I'm glad I picked this one up. I do plan on watching it again, as the dvd extras include two commentary tracks. It's just going to be a little hard getting through the beginning scenes two more times, as they present one of my biggest fears, being a husband who adores his wife, and hopes to possibly have kids some day. I was surprised I liked Jersey Girl, frankly, but I suspect that I had built up too many unfair, and unwarranted prejudices against it from the get go. I think it just came down to fame fatigue, and close-minded fanboy-ism, and perhaps poor marketing. I probably still wouldn't have seen it in the theater, but maybe I would have at least not waited 7 years to catch it on video. And now, I really can't wait to see Red State.
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