(23 May 2013)

An emotional film from one of the king's of comedy

This movie is awesome. You know why it didn't do so well in the theaters: Smith fans wanted the old humor of Clerks, Strike Back, etc., and Smith bashers were expecting another one of his vulgar comedies. In this movie you kind of get it all, although the comedy isn't quite as vulgar. Sure the scenarios are somewhat cliched, but hey isn't that the way life is, for every situation you go through there's many more people out there who have gone through the same thing. What makes it different is how the characters react to their situations. I'm sure many more people have given a plot analysis for this movie so I'm not going to bother boring you with that. Ben Affleck gives one of his best performances in this movie, I know people who can't stand him, but they like him in this movie. The little girl, Raquel Castro is amazing as a singer and actress in this movie. Don't worry about the whole Bennifer thing, there's very little of it in this movie, and when there is you can tell there is a certain chemistry. The whole cast is amazing, right down to a cameo by Will Smith as himself (in which he kind of bashes his movie I, Robot which is thought was hilarious). Definitely add this to your movie list. This is a good one for the whole family.

imken24 (22 May 2013)

Kevin Smith makes a "chick flick" watchable

I don't know why people seem to bash this movie. They also bash BenAffleck continuously. Sure, he can come off as a pretentious jerk, buthe has even made fun of himself for that - see Jay and Silent BobStrike Back. This movie is a sweet, sad story by a very talentedwriter/director in Smith. The predictable ending takes away a littlefrom the movie, but any time J HO dies in the first fifteen minutes ofa movie, that has to give it bonus. The development of Affleck's OliverTrinke was great. He was believable as a real person. He had the goodqualities and frailties we all do. He seemed incredibly shallow,self-centered, and money minded when he wanted to go back to New York,but he was also the same guy who hadn't had sex in seven years becauseof loyalty to his dead wife. If this were an MGM film with DrewBarrymore, it would have been praised over and over again. Criticsshould line up to kiss the back side of Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck.

MurrayFan (21 May 2013)

Mawkish, but heartfelt.

Crashing onto the scene in 1994 with "Clerks", the ultra low-budget odeto minimum wage till-jockeys, Kevin Smith became the poster boy forindependent filmmakers everywhere. Always a case of content over style,Smith's trademarks were his fantastic dialogue, toilet humour gags, andthe reassurance of his most enduring characters, the stoner duo Jay andSilent Bob. >From the outset of Jersey Girl however, Smith makes hisnew intentions clear; this is meant to be his cinematic coming-of-age.Jay and Silent Bob are now only seen (in animated form) in theproduction company logo, and the story seeks to tackle "grown-up"themes of love, loss and fatherhood, rather than the stink-palms andpoo monsters of Smith's previous films.Ben Affleck stars as Ollie Trinke, a successful music publicist, whohas a great apartment in Manhattan , the respect of his peers and thelove of a book editor called Gertrude Steiney (Jennifer bloody Lopez).This perfect life comes to an end however, when Gertrude dies inchildbirth leaving the bereft Ollie, clueless with the baby. Losing hisjob, Ollie and his daughter Gertie move back to the suburbs of NewJersey to live with his father (a brilliantly caustic George Carlin).So far, so Jack and Sarah.It is here however, that the film moves forward seven years to tell thestory of Ollie's relationship with his daughter, his blooming romancewith a video store worker played by Liv Tyler and his attempts to clawhis way back into his old, professional way of life. Affleck puts in agood performance, far removed from his usual pouting jarhead routine,creating a sense of real identification with the character and hisdifficult situation.However, there are some pointless cameos, most notably Jason Lee andMatt Damon as music publicists, which slightly take the audience out ofthe story, and the subplot about Ollie's obsession with porn is just alittle too creepy. Smith is still not a brilliant director. Far toooften, hazy montage sequences backed by soft-rock ballads take theplace of actual storytelling, but he certainly hasn't lost his flairfor inventive and engaging dialogue. One scene in particular betweenBen Affleck and a likable Will Smith is a fond rumination on fatherhoodthat seems to come straight from Kevin Smith's heart. Smith's bestfilms have always been those that analyse the minutiae of humanrelationships, and what it is that makes people tick. In Jersey Girl heplays to his strengths admirably, imbuing the relationship betweenOllie and Gertie with a genuine sense of love, affection andunderstanding. Inevitably, the film does descend into a kind of cloyingsentimentality as Ollie learns from his "sassy" daughter that it's notmoney and status that makes him happy, but Smith clearly feels sostrongly about such familial clichés that it is easy to get swept up inhis enthusiasm.

(21 May 2013)

Strange movie, with some good things but a dreadful story

I started the film with the feeling that I was going to see the 1000th romantic comedy of the year. Affleck and Lopez together again, but wasn't Liv Tyler the main female character?After a good start, the first strange thing arises: JLo is out of the film in 15 minutes! Is this good or bad news? Her removal was the beginning of a set of dreadful scenes. The worst of it: the never-ending Affleck's monologue in front of his baby splashed of useless spots of the child's sunrise and the grandfather (Goerge Carlin) nodding every of his son's words.Then, we discover the truth: neither Lopez nor Tyler is the star, but Raquel Castro. This is the really Jersey Girl and not one of the adults. So the first fifteen minutes were useless. Besides, Affleck's role (Ollie) is becoming more convincent and Raquel's acting is marvellous and this is what make the film not deserve a "failure" with only one star.Aftherwards, the "late entry" of Liv Tyler (Maya) in the movie is too abrupt, as well as the terrible fight between the girl and his father. More abrupt is Will Smith's cameo (why has he got to speak so bad about himself?).The worst thing is not the story itself, but some scenes which are totally unjustifiable. The film is sexually spotless unless for two minutes. The film is orally spotless unless for the resturant dialogue between Maya and Ollie. And the worst of the worst is the way she enters in Ollie's life: A pre-doctoral sexologist in a video-store? A first-view questionnaire about masturbation which encovers a sexual attraction for a widower? Too strange.The film should be easily re-oriented to a family comedy from a romantic comedy cutting the first 15 minutes and the mother's death, some out-of-tone words and the shower and the restaurant scenes.The director had a dilemma. It had to be clear that Ollie was a workaholic and that he hated his new job. So there had to be some scenes of his past life with her wife before the child was born. How could he do it? Well, I am not a movie director...Well, actors saved the film and at least made this a decent film to watch. I think Affleck never did it so good, but this is not a reason to recommend this movie.

(19 May 2013)

SEXY, ROMANTIC, FAIRY TALE LOVE STORY!!!!

Do not confuse this movie with the 2003 version.Gertz and McDermott are sensational in this 1993 sexy, romantic, fairy tale love story. One of those movies that you can watch again and again and still cry (or cheer) at the end!!!!

Forrest Hartman (18 May 2013)

The gags involve such things as Ben Affleck struggling to change a diaper. If this hadn’t been done so throroughly in Three Men and a Baby, it might have been funny.

(02 May 2013)

Jersey Girl - A Wonderful Movie.

This review is from: Jersey Girl (DVD) I love this movie (had it before on VHS) but it got lost and I was so disappointed, but then I decided to hunt for it on Amazon, and I was so happy to find it there - it's a beautiful story about young love, but with some really good lessons, on what friendship really means, and respect for one's parents, in it as well. It's so good.

(01 May 2013)

Tear Jerking and Good Laughter all add into one package

Honestly, before watching this movie, I've never heard of the name Kevin Smith or his other movies like, Clerks, Chasing Amy, etc. but I must admit, he is one hell of a writer. The scripts were fantastic, and they made me laugh and shed my tears. This is one of those feel good movie, that you can watch over and over again without getting sick of it.

Sean O'Connell (27 April 2013)

Smith tones down his trademark vulgarity to bring his message to the PG-13 crowd, and slices the cherished edge off his voice in the process.

(27 April 2013)

Movie full of swears, talk of sex, masturbation, and porno movies

Took three 12 year old girls to the PG-13 movie last night. They had seenthe enticing commercials that advertised the devotion of a little girl andher dad. Commercial contained one small spot of the dad with a girl in herbra with the daughter catching them and then asking them if the girl'sintentions were to marry her dad. It was a playful advertisement, and Ididnot think the movie would go much further than that as the commercialsseemed to be geared toward a young audience.What we saw, however, was shocking. The dialogue was overridden withconstant swearing, many of the discussions focused on sex, scenes dealtwitha girl offering herself for sex to the dad, the dad buying and discussingporno movies, the girl's and dad's masturbation habits, a play wheresomeone's throat is slashed, and so on.It was a disgrace. Whoever made this movie and targeted a young audienceshould be ashamed. The swears, sex talk, etc. destroyed the movie. Theyadded ABSOLUTELY NO VALUE whatsoever to the movie.Why did you include them? It is beyond my comprehension. You can't go to amovie today that does not include a few swears. (For some stupid reason,themovie industry thinks they need to be there though they add nothing to thefilm.) But this movie goes WAY beyond that.The storyline would have been great without all the trash content. Therewasno reason to add it. All you did was destroy the movie and anger a lot ofviewers.

Wendy Ide (21 April 2013)

The fact that Ben Affleck is required to emote should have been a warning sign to all involved with this project

metalicfan_420 (21 April 2013)

Chasing Amy Good.

Reading the reviews on Friday I was worried. Not that I generally trustreviews but they made the movie out to be all cutesy and sweet. Normallythese are the movies I hate. Shame on me for doubting KevinSmith.Kevin delivers the goods with this one, a touching love letter to his Dad,Daughter, and New Jersey. Written with that great Kevin Smith dialogue andaton of heart.Of all the View Askew films I felt Chasing Amy was the best. Jersey Girlrivals the honesty and heart of Chasing Amy.Great film, ****.

(16 April 2013)

Everything's Alright on Jersey Side: Sweet Romantic Comedy

Kevin Smith's new film 'Jersey Girl' is, it seems, quite unfairly attacked because of the following two factors: One, they say, Kevin went soft; and Two, yes, "Bennifer," a curious word that is now almost forgotten among us. But I enjoyed watching this sweet romantic comedy for what it is, and Kevin Smith, now himself married, also has a right to pick up father-daughter relation in his movies, doesn't he? And Raquel Castro, 'Jersey Girl' of the film, is so cute.Ben Affleck is very effective as Ollie Trinkle, workaholic New York publicist who lost his wife (Jennifer Lopez) at childbirth. After the career-killing fiasco (at his job promoting 'second-rate star' Will Smith), Ollie comes back to his hometown in New Jersey, where he starts a new life with his only daughter Gertie (very pretty Raquel Castro with uncanny resemblance with J-Lo).The basic story does not offer anything original except its tiny details. Ollie picks up his daughter at school riding his 'Bat Mobile' (actually an old road cleaning vehicle). Ollie meets a new love (a girl named Maya, played by Liv Tyler) at a rental video shop. Gertie loves her life in New Jersey, and so does Maya, and Ollie's father (George Carlin) too, but Ollie still wants the glorious days of NYC.Though Kevin Smith did not use the controversial materials like religion, 'Jersey Girl' is nowhere near a family-oriented picture. If Ollie and Gertie see a Broadway musical, it's not 'Cats' nor 'Starlight Express'; no, it should be Sondheim's 'Sweeny Todd,' tale about a cut-throating barber and delicious meat pies. And at Ollie's home, the kids are showing their 'parts' to each other. Ben Affleck fits in the role of likeable single father quite naturally, and it is also fun to see him and his daughter exchanging humorous dialogues with each other. Wide-eyed and long-haired Raquel Castro is incredibly cute, and the casting agent who found her deserves a special bonus. Her charming smile raises the film's quality one notch up, or perhaps more. You also get amusing cameos from Matt Damon, Jason Lee, and Will Smith.'Jersey Girl' is sweet, often too sentimental, and least Kevin Smith-like film. You find few references to comics and pop culture, so his faithful fans might be disappointed at the change. But as unapologetically sweet romantic comedy 'Jersey Girl' is not bad. Enjoy it for what it is.

Peter Howell (16 April 2013)

Watching Jersey Girl is akin to being smothered by a basket of warm puppies.

Micky (15 April 2013)

Don't bother.

I was actually looking forward to seeing this movie. I love Liv Tyler,andKevin Smith's previous movies (ie. Clerks, Chasing Amy) were veryentertaining, but this movie stinks. Bad acting on the part of Affleck,orjust plain overacting. The little girl looked adorable but acted like apetulant teenager, not a seven year old. There was no innocence to her,sad. The music was cheesy. I actually heard someone snort duringAffleck'stear jerking scene with his infant daughter. A part of me suspected thiswas video material but there isn't much choice out there. Let's hopeKevinSmith gets back to his roots and sticks with his other players, like JasonLee, he is hilarious.

Danielxx8 (15 April 2013)

A Great

This is a great movie, and definitely one of Kevin Smith's bestpictures. Its enjoyable on many different levels, but it definitelydoesn't follow the same patter as his other movies. So to anyonelooking for another classic "Jay and Silent Bob" flick, you'll bedisappointed.This is a heart felt movie that I feel should have done better than itdid. As any Kevin Smith fan knows, he isn't going for Oscar gold, butrather for something he, and others would find entertaining. If youhave never watched a Kevin Smith movie before, this is a decentstarter. Though don't expect his others to be quite like this. The onlyother movie that could be considered similar would be Chasing Amy.

Garth Franklin (15 April 2013)

People who find Smith's work too brazen or fringe will really fall for this picture, likewise those easily pleased by this genre will enjoy. Hardcore fans may be very upset by Smith doing something so ordinary and even mundane.

Joshua Huang (14 April 2013)

Heartwarming and yet entertaining

This is a Kevin Smith movie which doesn't exactly resemble a KevinSmith movie,but i still enjoyed it nonetheless.The plot was kept simple but the dialogs were well scripted and hencebrought feeling to the movie.Quite a coup in fact that Kevin Smithmanaged to get the beautiful Liv Tyler to act in the show, which sheadds a sense of aestheticism to besides her good singing in one part ofthe show.Raquel Castro was also very adorable and she made me laugh at her cutemoments and cry at her sad moments.All in all a good show to watch with your other half too.Sure hope tosee Kevin Smith not shy away from experimenting with this kind of showin the future.

Urban Cinefile Critics (12 April 2013)

Jersey Girl obeys the classic conventions of romantic comedy but there are ingredients in this mix that raise it a notch above average.

michael (11 April 2013)

YOU HAVE TO BE A COMPLETE D*CK NOT TO LIKE THIS FILM

Even for a guy, wow i liked this film. Its about everything we all wishfor in a romantic film. It was funny when it had to be and just sad atthe same time. Some punch lines were subtle while others were justdelivered at the right time. There is nothing not to like about thisfilm. Most of the time a film reflects the life of the people thatworked on it. Every in the movie, from the actor to the director did avery good job. I suppose i must say that the producers also did a goodjob in picking a movie that touches the heart. I suppose that the LockNess monster would want to move to the Jersey Shore after watching thisfilm. I'm not going to give any spoilers, because i want you to watchit!