The Popkorn Junkie :: The Good Girl

I just love movies about desperate people. They make me feel good about myself--not because I am desperate, but because they show me how well I have it. "Magnolia" and "Happiness" are two of my favorite films of all-time and they both centered on the lives, hopes, and dreams of desperate people. "The Good Girl" follows this same formula, only to a slightly worse conclusion.

Jennifer Aniston stars as Justine Last, a clerk at the local retail store who has you typical boring, depressing life. She is married to Phil (John C. Reilly)--a real pain in the ass, and her job is completely mind numbing. So, hoping to find that spark she is missing, she strikes up a relationship with another, younger clerk named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal)--a young man who has a weird obsession with the J.D. Salinger novel "The Catcher in the Rye". Eventually, Justine becomes pregnant, and her husband's pal Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson) threatens to reveal the secret, spinning the film into emotional overdrive, and a very solid ending.

Now, for my usual breakdown: what did I like about this film? The performances are some of the best I have seen this year, and they should certainly be rewarded come Oscar time. The two standouts come from Jennifer Aniston, who delivers the performance of her career and shows that television actresses can be forces to be reckoned with in cinema (she is following in the footsteps of Helen Hunt, it would seem), and Jake Gyllenhaal as her literature obsessed lover. All right, I may be a little biased since I got to meet and chat with Jake Gyllenhaal in London, but he is still one hell of a great actor and this role is perfect for him (unlike "Bubble Boy", which was kind of yucky). John C. Reilly and Tim Blake Nelson are also equally funny in their subsequent roles.

What did I dislike about this movie? It was too depressing at some points. I got the same feeling I got when I saw "You Can Count on Me"--it is a fantastic film, but it just gets too depressing at some points. Now, I'm not talking about your "Battlefield Earth", how could John Travolta do this to his career type of depression, but a heavy case nonetheless. I also dislike the performance from the usually lovely and precise Zooey Deschanel--she was truly less that riveting in this picture.

Alas, "The Good Girl" is a worthy piece of cinema, and I have no doubt it will be honored come Oscar time, which it should be. However, I doubt Jake Gyllenhaal will get the recognition he deserves, especially with "Moonlight Mile" still to come, a film which will probably heavily overshadow this one. Director Miguel Arteta is a fine filmmakers and managed to derived one incredibly strong performance from Aniston, something that served the movie well. She is a fine leading lady and this film is a testament to her talent. I liked "The Good Girl", but I don't like it when a film depresses me too much. Frogs raining from the sky in "Magnolia" was something else, as was Phillip Seymour Hoffman spraying his bedroom wall with unexplainable substances--"The Good Girl" kind of made me want to take five or ten perkiset. Anyhoo, "The Good Girl" is a good movie.

-- Billy Ray ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

Other Junkie's opinions.....

Mike ( 2 out of 4 pops )

I've often heard people say they hate a movie because it is depressing. But films with dark themes with depressed and desperate people often make for a most engrossing film to watch and will make you think about it for hours after it is over. However, with "The Good Girl", no redemption ensues and all the characters pretty much remain the same by the end of the film. None of their problems or desperation really grabbed me, I pretty much just didn't care what would happen to any of the characters. However, the film is still a decent character study of these people who have absolutely no ambition or dreams, and Jennifer Aniston proved that she could pull of a serious dramatic role. I didn't hate this movie but I was expecting a more powerful film with more interesting characters that I cared about.

Pappy ( 2 out of 4 pops )

For some reason I really wanted to like this film. I like Jennifer Anniston and applaud her efforts at trying to break from simple comedies, but this film is so dull looking and acted that I just couldn’t get into it, and cannot recommend it. Everything is unattractive in this movie – the story, the visuals, and especially the cast – even Jennifer.