The Good Girl

Starring:

Jennifer Aniston......Justine Last

Jake Gyllenhaal......Thomas "Holden" Worther

John C. Reilly......Phil Last

John Carroll Lynch......Jack Field

Tim Blake Nelson......Bubba

Zooey Deschanel......Cheryl

Mike White......Corny

Written By:

Mike White

Directed By:

Miguel Arteta

Release Date:

August 7, 2002

Running Time:

93 mins

So Jennifer Aniston, basically known for playing Rachel Green in every role, shows a strong level of diversity and honest talent in the role of Justine, a cynical 30 year old employee at Retail Rodeo, a mixture of Wal-Mart and Dollar General. She puts on a believable Southern accent... most of the cast does a good one, except for Jake Gyllenhaal, who mostly whines, but we'll get to that later.

Justine narrates the film, offering her thoughts, observations, and feelings through a monotone voice all the way until the final scene. She often thinks of how to react in a situation in her head, or narration, and then proceeds to go forth with it in the actual scene with another character. To offer comic relief to this mostly solemn movie is Zooey Deschanel as Cheryl, a young, spicy employee who offers lines like "Fuck you very much" to her customers. As a long-time fan of Deschanel, I was sad she wasn't used that much in the movie. But I digress, the movie was about Jen.

One day Justine notices a new employee reading "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. He introduces himself as Holden, the name of the main character in said book, and awkwardly converses with Justine. Keep in mind that Gyllenhaal is one of my favorite actors, but like I said before, his voice really irritated me in this film. There was no real trace of a Southern accent... he sounded like a little kid, even more so than he did in the previous year's "Donnie Darko." They become good friends and eventually engage in a secret affair, which causes turmoil in the relationship between Justine and her husband of seven years, Phil, played endearingly by John C. Reilly. Justine is torn between the two men: she is mystified by Holden, but feels comfort with Phil, even if he sits on his ass all day with his best friend Bubba, smoking joints and watching cartoons. Add that to the fact that he is infertile, Justine has a hard decision ahead of her, one that I won't spoil for first time viewers.

So do I recommend "The Good Girl?" Yes, I certainly do. It's a sardonic black comedy/drama with engaging characters and good acting, and I would say Aniston's best movie role to date.

Four out of Five Stars.