Jersey Girl Review

Being a fan of Kevin Smith's previous work, I was excited when I first heard about Jersey Girl. However, not long after reading an announcement of the movie, I realized all I saw about it was bad press. Could it be that bad? As it turns out, no, not at all. If, when thinking about Kevin Smith, you think of the something-to-offend-everyone humor of Clerks or Mallrats, you'll be disappointed; if great writing pops to mind, I think you'll be pleased.

Jersey Girl is a well-written story of single fatherhood that avoids normal plot ideas for a movie like this: the movie isn't about the budding romance between Ollie (Ben Affleck) and Maya (Liv Tyler), it's not about all the "cute" things a little kid might do, and it's not about a little kid rejecting the new girlfriend. (To be fair, however, there are some great Kevin Smith-esque scenes like this throughout the movie: Ollie's conversation with his daughter about the birds and the bees, Maya's "interview" with Ollie [and the scenes that follow] pop to mind.)