Good Girl

( 22 )

Overview

Director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White, who had previously collaborated on Chuck and Buck, turn an eye toward suburban boredom with the quirky comedy The Good Girl. Jennifer Aniston stars as Justine, a woman who is feeling constrained by her life. Her husband, Phil (John C. Reilly), is a house painter who spends the majority of his time smoking marijuana with his friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). Longing for something more in her life, Justine becomes involved with a younger co-worker named Tom (Jake ...
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Overview

Director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White, who had previously collaborated on Chuck and Buck, turn an eye toward suburban boredom with the quirky comedy The Good Girl. Jennifer Aniston stars as Justine, a woman who is feeling constrained by her life. Her husband, Phil (John C. Reilly), is a house painter who spends the majority of his time smoking marijuana with his friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). Longing for something more in her life, Justine becomes involved with a younger co-worker named Tom (Jake Gyllenhall), but because of his fascination with The Catcher in the Rye, he likes to be called Holden. Her new sense of freedom and release are threatened when a co-worker dies, and when Bubba learns of her infidelity. This film was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Peter Marchand
With her emotional, understated turn in this independent gem, Jennifer Aniston proves that she will survive in Hollywood after Friends goes the way of all old sitcoms. Under-appreciated in Office Space and She’s the One, Aniston quietly shines in The Good Girl as Justine Last, a relatively dowdy small-town Texas girl toiling through days as a clerk at a poor man’s K-Mart called "Retail Rodeo" and enduring nights with her stoned house-painter husband John C. Reilly. Justine embodies the plight of countless faceless people who see no way out of suffocating circumstances. That is, until she meets the new checkout guy, Holden an unsettling Jake Gyllenhaal, a Catcher in the Rye-obsessed college dropout who fancies himself a misunderstood writer. Their ensuing affair takes them from stock room to sleazy hotel, where they are caught by her husband’s dim-bulb best friend, Bubba Tim Blake Nelson, whose bizarre brand of blackmail sets off a chain of surprisingly life-changing events. Director Miguel Arteta deftly captures the rhythms, voices and absurdities of everyday life to poignant effect. He elicits humor as well as heartbreaking despair from both the leads and various quirky side characters. Mike White, who also wrote the script and teamed with Arteta on the offbeat Chuck and Buck, gets laughs as a Bible-bandying security guard, for instance. Zooey Deschanel, as Rodeo co-worker Cheryl, is absolutely hilarious, insulting customers over the P.A. system and turning her unwitting makeover clients into virtual clowns. Ultimately, though, this is Aniston’s show: Her vulnerability is tangible as Justine weighs the complexities of her situation.
All Movie Guide - Josh Ralske
Director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter/actor Mike White, who collaborated on the supremely discomfiting Chuck & Buck, take a more humane tack in dissecting the trapped, flawed denizens of a suburban Texas town in The Good Girl. Jennifer Aniston (Friends) breaks away from her sitcom persona as Justine, a bored department store cosmetics clerk, ironically described in the title. Aniston delivers a solid, appropriately low-key performance, and she's aided by White's script, which mixes occasional easy laughs with a surprising moral complexity, and by a sterling supporting cast. Standouts include John C. Reilly as Phil, Justine's good-natured but feckless pothead husband, Tim Blake Nelson as Bubba, Phil's best friend, who secretly envies what he perceives as Phil and Justine's "perfect life," and Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous) as Cheryl, Justine's glumly acerbic coworker. The talented Jake Gyllenhaal (who played a completely different character in a similar situation opposite Catherine Keener in Lovely & Amazing) brings a sweaty intensity to the pivotal role of Holden, Justine's intensely self-involved illicit love interest, a depressed white kid who refers to his given name, Tom, as his "slave name." Justine is the calm center of The Good Girl, and while she's never quite despicable, the film doesn't soft-pedal her selfishness, or the destruction her choices cause to those around her. The film is very funny at times, and it takes some surprising turns, but it's also slow-paced and glum. It's a fine feel-bad comedy.
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert
1/2 Aniston has at last decisively broken with her Friends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil.
Hollywood Reporter
An absorbing, slice-of-depression life that touches nerves and rings true.
San Francisco Chronicle
A smart, arch and rather cold-blooded comedy.

1/2 Aniston has at last decisively broken with her Friends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 1/7/2003
  • UPC: 024543060123
  • Original Release: 2002

    • Rating:

  • Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Jennifer Aniston Justine Last
Jake Gyllenhaal Tom 'Holden' Worther
John C. Reilly Phil Last
Tim Blake Nelson Bubba
Zooey Deschanel Cheryl
Mike White Corny
Deborah Rush Gwen Jackson
John Carroll Lynch Jack Field
John Doe
Jacob Vargas
Technical Credits
Miguel Arteta Director
Philip Von Alvensleben Executive Producer
Carol Baum Executive Producer
Jeff Betancourt Editor
Linda Brachman Asst. Director
Dan Bradford Production Designer
Enrique Chediak Cinematographer
Joanna Colbert Casting
Kirk D'Amico Executive Producer
Susan J. Emshwiller Set Decoration/Design
Shelly Glasser Co-producer
Matthew Greenfield Producer
Gina Kwon Co-producer
Yehuda Maayan Sound/Sound Designer
Nancy Steiner Costumes/Costume Designer
Macie Vener Art Director
Mike White Screenwriter
Margaret Yen Musical Direction/Supervision
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 22 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(7)

4 Star

(8)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(2)

1 Star

(4)

Your Rating:

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 22 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Good Bad Girl

    I think Good Girl was a very outstanding movie. The ending was very twisted..just the way I like them.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    great

    The good girl is one of those movies that you either love or hate, in my opinion. I personally loved it, and thought that it was touching and emotional. I'll admit that its not a comedy, but the dramatic aspects of it are beautiful, life-like, and definately worthwhile.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    wow??

    i thought this movie would be as funny as orange county , but it was so sad1!!!! Gees jake gyllenhaal is sexy in this movie so that is why i rented i ( but all in all i rated it 2 stars because of Jake!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Definately worth watching...

    I wasn't too sure I would like this movie but I DID! I hardly would catagorize this as being even a LITTLE BIT of a 'comedy' but after a few viewings, I was able to find some of the intended 'humor' in the dialogue. Jennifer Aniston was great, EVERYONE was perfectly cast. I LOVED the music and it's a sorry shame there is no soundtrack available.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    It took two tries to get through it...

    The classification of 'Good Girl' into comedy was grossly incorrect. This movie for me was the opposite of a comedy as I felt horrible through out the movie. The only thing that saved it and made me finish watching it was the acting.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Worst Movie EVER Made

    Sorry to all that enjoyed this flick, but in my personal opinion: IT SUCKED! It had no storyline, terrible lines, and this DEFINATELY was not a comedy. Everything becomes more and more depressing, and whenever you think something funny is going to happen, it doesn't. Jennifer Aniston is valued as a very talented actress in my book, but I know she can do better. Please, do not buy this movie!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Very Well Acted

    I am choosing to write this online review in response to a few people who took issue with the fact that the film is labled as a ''comedy'' on the box, but did not find it comedic. There is a genre of films called ''black comedy''. And, that is the genre in which this film fits. This is a film that finds the humor is otherwise dark situations (as so often we all do in life) and requires a mind that appreciates wit, rather than toilet humor comedy. The actors in this film, including Jennifer Aniston, John C. Reilly, and Jake Gyllenhaal portrayed their character very well, bringing to life the emotional turmoil AND humor that this film needed.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Awesome

    This movie captures the absurdism of a woman trapped by society. Jennifer Aniston is incredible as Justine who tries to escape from the life she needs. I cannot stop watching this movie! With every time I see it I love it more. Listen to the the monologues at the beginning.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    BEST MOVIE IVE EVER SEEN

    I thought this was the BEST movie that I've ever seen, and i usually hate movies. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to shut their mouths.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Not what I thought it'd be

    This movie was nothing that I expected it to be. It said it was a comedy on the box, but it wasn't... but also, the plot line was predictable. Aside from those notes, the entire cast was perfectly picked, especially Aniston was GREAT in her role... overall I liked this movie and would recommend it to others.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I hope it gets better

    This movie was not only horrible, but it had no story line. I definitely would not recommend this movie. This had to be the worst movie I ever saw!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    I want my money back

    This movies is not only terrible but is being falsely advertised. It said it was a comedy on the box. Now if suicide, adultery, death, angst, depression and lieing are comical then I guess it is a comedy. Dont waste your money and time on this rubbish

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Fabulous!

    I'm usually real cynical of a lot of movies, but I genuinely like and recommend this one.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    ''Best feel weird movie of the year''

    This is a great film. It is beautifully acted by everyone, especially Aniston, who is unrecognizable to those of us who are fans of Rachel Greene.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Boring!

    One word. Horrible! I hated this film. The only highlight was John C. Riley in my opinion in his portrayal of Jennifer's loser painter husband.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    The Good Girl Isn't Too Bad

    This movie is beautifully acted and directed. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a phenominal part as a demented check-out clerk who saves Jennifer Aniston's character from her horrible life. But all goes wrong when her husbands sidekick catches her in the throws of passion with Holden(Jake Gyllenhaal). I enjoyed this movie because you could really feel the heart-ache and passion. I felt what they were feeling and you will too.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 20, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 1, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 13, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 7, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 22 Customer Reviews