Movies - Jersey Girl

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	Movies - Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl is a 2004 film written and directed by Kevin Smith, and starring Ben Affleck. With its $35 million dollar production budget, the film was Smith's biggest-budget project to date. However, it was a panned by critics and was a box-office bomb, nominated for three Razzie Awards. Jersey Girl is the only one of Smith's films to be set outside his "View Askewniverse" of interlocking characters and stories. The failure of the film could be blamed on the relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez falling apart during the filming of this film, as it was already on rocky ground after the failure of Gigli
the year prior.

Plot outline

Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a powerful media publicist in New York City who loses his wife (Jennifer Lopez) in childbirth. To avoid his grief, Trinke buries himself in his work and ignores his new daughter, Gertie, leaving her in the care of his father (George Carlin). His father finally forces Trinke to live up to his responsibility as a parent. Under the stress of job and fatherhood, Trinke lashes out in front of a room full of reporters. The public outburst costs Trinke his job and he is forced to move in with his father in New Jersey. Trinke is humbled by the experience and finally looks upon his daughter with approval and conviction.

Now blacklisted by all the New York public relations firms, Trinke has tried unsuccessfully for years to get work as a publicist. He finally takes work as a civil servant in the borough where he now lives to get by. Gertie (Raquel Castro), now in elementary school, often coaxes her father to rent movies to watch. At the video store, they meet Maya (Liv Tyler), one of the store's clerks. Maya soon becomes a good friend and part of their lives.

As part of his job in the borough, Trinke finds he has to speak to a group of outraged citizens to win over their approval for a major public works project he proposes that will temporarily close a street in the neighborhood. He is successful and realizes how much he misses the public relations work. He contacts Arthur (Jason Biggs), his onetime co-worker, who sets up a promising interview.

The real prospect of moving to New York creates tension between Trinke and his daughter, his father and Maya, but Trinke is absolutely resolved to regain his old status. However, while waiting to be interviewed, Trinke has a chance encounter with Will Smith (playing himself), who Trinke had trashed at his public outbust years before. Smith has no idea who Trinke is but their conversation about work and children makes Trinke decide to sacrifice the former for the latter. Trinke is able to make to his daughter's "Sweeney Todd" musical performance at the last second (she was assigned to do a musical number, which, as it turned out, was the only one not to be "Memory" from Cats).

Response to the film

Critics were generally unimpressed with the film, finding it flat and cliched. The film was not a commercial success at the box office either, making only $25.2 million domestic and $10.6 million overseas against a $35 million dollar budget (easily Kevin Smith's largest) and a $15 million dollar marketing campaign. The film has since turned a profit on video.

The film was nominated for three Razzie Awards. Worst Actor for Ben Affleck, Worst Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lopez, and according to the press release, "Ben Affleck & EITHER Jennifer Lopez OR Liv Tyler" for Worst On-Screen Couple.

Smith has blamed at least part of the film's reception on public perceptions of the Lopez-Affleck relationship and their widely-panned previous release, Gigli
.

In response to negative reviews following the movie's release, director Kevin Smith was quoted saying his movie was "Not for critics."

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Movies - Jersey Girl

Plot outline

Response to the film

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