The Good Girl
The cast members of the TV sitcom "Friends" are trying fervently to start their individual film careers, especially since the popular show will be ending in a season or two. The movies in question generally have been lame, to put it diplomatically. However, Courtney Cox's role as opportunistic reporter Gail Weathers on the horror neo-classic Scream and its two sequels has contributed to her fame. Jennifer Aniston could well be the second "Friend" to break out from her happy-go-lucky typecast and try on a serious film. Her performance in the recent indie The Good Girl could be the springboard to Aniston's post-"Friends" success.
If you were to ask Justine Last what single word she would use to describe her life, she would likely answer with "simple." She works at the makeup counter at the Retail Rodeo. After work, she goes home to her pothead husband Phil (Chicago's John C. Reilly) and his white-trash friend Bubba. Justine is 30 years old, and her life is passing by like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
That is until she meets Thomas "Holden" Worther, the new cashier. Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes his nickname from the main character in J.D. Salinger's masterpiece The Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield and Holden Worther have similar outlooks on life and contemporary society. Finding Holden fascinating, Justine reluctantly begins an affair with the troubled young man, thus complicating her boring life.
The character Justine reminds me of Connie Sumner in Unfaithful, complete with a topless scene. At first, Justine uses her marriage to resist Holden's "charms," but she soon gives in to him. However, The Good Girl de-emphasizes the impact of an affair on Justine's marriage.
Jake Gyllenhaal has come a long way since City Slickers. A couple of years after playing successful dreamer Homer Hickam in October Sky, Gyllenhaal took a brooding path and played the title character in Donnie Darko. Gyllenhaal has retained his knack for playing gloomy characters, and he uses it to play Holden Worther effectively. Keep an eye on this guy, because he's going to be a star someday (provided he doesn't make Bubble Boy 2).
Despite a grim feeling, The Good Girl offers some funny moments. Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous) is hilarious as one of Justine's co-workers. Apparently, Deschanel prepared for her role by watching Clerks, because Cheryl has a backwards concept of customer service.
If you think that the cast of "Friends" is made up of annoying no-talents, you're not completely correct. Jennifer Aniston's impressive career turn shows that she's more than a pretty face and a nice body. Aniston deserves (and has received) praise for a melancholy performance that contrasts with her upbeat characters on the big and smaller screens. After seeing this movie, I instantly forgave Aniston for Picture Perfect, and I am not known for being a forgiving person.
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The overall depressing tone of the film does not warrant an artificial depressant like alcohol
Issues of infidelity lower The Good Girl's date-film status.
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