Grade: C+
I’ve always said Ben Affleck should just stick to appearing in Kevin Smith movies, unfortunately for of all of us View Askewniverse fans (derived from the name of Smith and producer Scott Mosier’s production company, View Askew), Kevin Smith is now making Ben Affleck movies. Jersey Girl, their latest collaboration, would fit right in with the films Matt Damon (as himself) mocks in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (this includes Forces of Nature and Bounce).
But if nothing else, Smith has earned himself some slack over the years, so I’m willing to cut him some. The disparate roles George Carlin has received in Smith’s last two outings can be seen as iconic of the director’s recent evolution. In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Carlin plays an oral sex offering hitchhiker, in Jersey Girl, he’s the sweet natured, wisecracking, but sensible father figure to Affleck. Smith has gone from lowbrow (but still funny) fart jokes, to an attempt at a much more touching, serious story. We are seeing the work of a new Smith, who is now with a wife and child, and has concerns that extend beyond annoying customers and sabotaging dating games.
One of my biggest problems with this film is how it’s been advertised. It’s being labeled a “romantic comedy” and selling it on the pairing of Affleck and Liv Tyler. The story between these two is merely a sub-plot; the “Jersey Girl” is the daughter of Affleck whom he struggles to raise as a single father. There are jokes sprinkled throughout, but the comedy is overshadowed by the seriousness of many of the events.
Though the film has a sweetness many will fall for, it lacks originality. From beginning to end, the film is plagued with an abundance of clich
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