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The Good Girl (2002) Fox Searchlight 1 hr. 34 minutes Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Zooey Deschanel, Deborah Rush, Tim Blake Nelson, Mike White Directed by: Miguel Arteta The Good Girl Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG Who hasn't at one point in their lives felt some sense of malaise in their routine everyday existence? Well, director Miguel Arteta ("Chuck & Buck") sets out to give us a portrait of one such soul whose life is at a stillborn rut in the well-intentioned but mopey drama "The Good Girl". Arteta devises a quaint character study about one woman's constant solitude in a wind-and-grind retail job set against the backstop of a dusty and desolate Texas town. Although the premise is a natural showcase for articulating the momentum of despair and isolation, "The Good Girl" manages to concoct nothing of interest that would spark this drowsy drama beyond its earnest yet condescending inclinations. One refreshing tidbit to note is that the film's leading lady, Jennifer Aniston, gets to shed her weekly giddy television "Friends" persona for the inspiring and earthy plain Jane role of Justine Last, a frustrated and bored young woman seemingly trapped in the stronghold of her small-town stagnation. Justine is at the mercy of her monotonous gig as a low-paid cashier at her place of employment, The Retail Rodeo. And if that isn't depressing enough for her to fathom, her personal life is not much to write home about either. Justine happens to be married to an oafish, pot-smoking pinhead (John C. Riley) who spends his time hanging around an equally lunkheaded sidekick named Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). Justine yearns for something more challenging and stimulating both professionally and personally. Her emotional state, so it seems, is as vacant as a high-priced big city parking lot. And so the question begs: where will Justine find her dose of immediate fulfillment? Enter Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), an offbeat and unsteady fellow employee of Justine's who happens to be a die hard Catcher in the Rye enthusiast. Gradually, Justine takes an immense liking to the younger, edgy co-worker and is transfixed by his oddness and sensitivity. Perhaps Justine finds the same kind of subtle alienation in Holden and can identify with his healthy dosage of angst and undeniable inner turmoil? Hey, it's anyone's guess... "The Good Girl" heartily tries its darndest to wrap its thematic arms around the concept of painful disillusionment. Arteta reaches for every suitable cliche' in the book to demonstrate this belabored point. For instance, he resorts to showing his protagonist toiling at a repetitive dead-end job, sheds a revealing light on a loveless marriage, presents the forbidden act of his heroine taking in a disoriented young lover, and emphasizes in having his main player associate with others that are in the same identifiable psychological funk, etc. Even the inclusion of J.D. Salinger literary references feel achingly overused just to bring home the elaborate point. Sure, the script calls for these aforementioned occurrences to transpire. But we get the picture, Arteta...the players in this cloying melodrama are stuck in a continuous quagmire of desperation! In excessively harping on this tidbit, the film doesn't leave much room for the audience to absorb this stark revelation. The pacing of Arteta's narrative can be annoyingly plodding at times. The build-up for the emotional crutch of the characters' makeup is convincing thanks to the noteworthy caliber performances by the leads Aniston and Gyllenhaal. If anything, the players in this tepid tale are handcuffed by screenwriter-actor Mike White's anemic touch (he also happens to play a clueless converted Christian security guard in the film). In addition to force-feeding the notion of an agonizing and stale livelihood experienced by these put-upon personalities, White mistakingly opens up a series of logical questions that compromise his precious plotline. If Justine and her colleagues are tired of the same ol' run-of-the-mill agenda, then why don't they take any legitimate measures to change their fate? And how can one be seriously sympathetic for Justine and her circumstances when she's obviously an astute person who's aware of her lingering predicament? She knows what she wants in terms of a decent man who will seriously provide her with a family of her own. If that's the case, then why would she hastily run from her useless hubby and jump right into a questionable relationship regarding her dalliance with the troubled Holden? This is pretty much like hopping from the frying pan into the fire. One can argue Justine's confusion and inability to realize her downward spiral because her situation bounds her in a painful ambivalence. Still, the heavy-handed script doesn't inject enough depth for us to comprehend Justine's indecision to better her options. Instead, this Southern-fried fable relies on the sugar-coated coziness of a pseudo-desired compulsion to escape the drudgery. There's a regrettable falseness about "The Good Girl" that undermines the film's attempt at examining the unwanted rigors of a fruitless everyday life that one could deem the proverbial vicious circle. Arteta wants to unsparingly look at the behavior of his cinematic pawns but yet fails to concentrate on focusing behind the true nature of such flawed human uncertainty. It's sort of like appreciating a fine meal but not caring about the effort that went into preparing such a tasty dish. Yeah, there are lost souls in this world who merely accept the cards they're dealt and go about their inescapable, miserable business. But Justine and company have that power to change the course of their rocky path. And because this movie willingly celebrates this misguided motto of being indifferent and disabling, the pathos in this film is nothing more than a convenient guise. We all eventually come to a crossroad and it's within each and every one of us to determine what we need to do when we get there. Ultimately, Justine Last ends up as the poster girl for unnecessary self-pity and relentless self-doubt. Unfortunately, this makes her a needlessly naive bad girl in a preachy and unresolved film. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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