THE GOOD GIRL (2002)

CAST: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gylenhaal, John C. Reily, Tim Blake Nelson, Mike White, Zooey Deschanel, John doe, John Carroll Lynch, Deborah Rush, Aimee Garcia

Directed By: Miguel Arteta
Written By: Mike White
Cinematography By: Enrique Chediak
Editor: Jeff Betancourt

This is a movie where I wonder what is the point I enjoy mike white scripts but this feels more like a vehicle that was written around a star to give them some kind of artistic indie credibility and bring out there strengths more then a film with a story that ether needed to be told or actually have a story to tell. It’s got plenty of great characters but has nothing to do with them. It’s almost like they just stand around and react to the star but don’t actually seem to do anything.

I understand this is supposed to be partially a examination of small town life but we have explored that in many other films already, the only difference is that this is updated more modern but still the film revolves around a scandal that threatens to come out but never is in any real danger of being exposed.

I can see why the film has such a good character actor cast the characters are quirky which is usually a actor’s paradise.

The film revolves around a bored housewife. Whose husband is a pot smoking house painter who wants to have kids his best friend has a crush on the housewife who has a retail job to try to enliven her life. Which it doesn’t then she meets Holden a cashier who fancies himself after Holden Caulfield from “A Catcher In The Rye” he is much younger and they begin a torrid affair which the longer and deeper the relationship gets the more unstable and unbalanced he becomes. Which leads to a robbery of the store and her trying to cover it up. Mix in a born again adulterer A Christian security guard who does heavy recruiting for his church. A Sarcastic make up person who makes the store announcements and wears way too much make up and a cat lady.

This film feels like a loose plot tread or a used one of “Desperate Housewives”

Jennifer Aniston tries but she feels like she is out of her element there is nothing wrong with her performance but it feels like she is out of place and trying to mask that with her character wanting to get out the town and her life doesn’t help. Jake Gylenhaal here gets to play the type he always seems to enjoy angst ridden as a actor he seems to prefer off beat and downtrodden characters even though he more has the looks of a movie star. In some films that he is in that is annoying luckily not here.

This may have been better served just like his other script and film “Year of the dog” as a short story or a novel it would then be more penetrating instead of feeling like a quirky run of the mill independent film.

Rent at your own risk.

GRADE: C-