The Gods of Filmmaking is not affiliated with any of the celebrities.  If you would like to try to contact them try here

Jersey Girl (2004)

Starring Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Liv Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez.  Cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond.  Edited by Olof Källström, Kevin Smith, and Scott Mosier. Produced by Scott Mosier.  Written and Directed by Kevin Smith.

Ollie Trinke (played by Ben Affleck) is the youngest and most successful music publicist in Manhattan.  At a party one evening he meets Gertie (played by Jennifer Lopez). The two quickly fall in love, get married, and are soon with child.

Everything seems to be falling into place until an aneurysm in Gertie’s head breaks during her labor and she dies.  Heartbroken and confused, Ollie moves into his father’s New Jersey home looking for help. After a short stint of misdirected negligence, Ollie realizes that his new baby girl, who is also named Gertie (and who grows up into Raquel Castro), is now his entire world. 

Flash forward seven years. Ollie now works with his father (played by George Carlin) at the public works department.  He has also met Maya (played by Liv Tyler), the local video store clerk, with whom he entertains the idea of a romantic relationship.  Meanwhile, an opportunity has opened at another Manhattan publicity firm and Ollie is offered the job. He must now choose between the life he thinks he wants in Manhattan and the life that wants him in Jersey.

Kevin Smith’s growing up, people, and we’re all going to have to learn to deal with it. After ten years and five films loaded with some of the finest dick and fart jokes ever put on a screen, the heart of the self professed “sentimental softie” has finally shown through.  The idea for this project came up when Smith was working on the “Clerks” animated series. After a stretch of long days filled with sophomoric humor, it suddenly occurred to him that the emotional spring bubbling up inside of him would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. 

One evening while watching his wife put his baby girl to bed, it struck him that while he was blessed to have a career in the filmmaking business, his true blessing resided within his small family.  That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Smith wrote the first fifty pages of Jersey Girl.  It was saved on his hard drive and there it stayed.

Two years later at a Fourth of July party, he and Ben Affleck discussed potential future projects with each other. When Affleck expressed interest in doing a character driven film, Smith told him about his pet project. After reading the few pages that Smith had put together, Affleck encouraged him to finish the script.  The advice was well heeded and by the beginning of 2002, the first draft of Jersey Girl completed.

At first glance Jersey Girl may look like a complete departure from everything Kevin Smith has done up to this point.  It’s certainly less vulgar than Clerks.  It’s more mature than Mallrats.  It doesn’t carry any of the controversial baggage that Dogma has.  Really, it isn’t as original or fascinating as any of his other pictures. 

For all Jersey Girl lacks it makes up in depth. It’s a touching story of humanity that can make you laugh and warm your heart all within the same two hours. The characters are fun to watch and it’s very easy to get wrapped up in their lives. Unfortunately Jersey Girl struggled at the box office, but don’t let the financial results fool you; it’s a nicely put together little picture.

Budget: $35,000,000

Total US Gross: $25,266,129

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 102 Minutes

US Release Date: 3/26/04

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Awards: none

Tagline: He Wanted It All… But He Got More Than He Bargained For.

Quote: “Try acting like a father, shithead.”