Jersey Girl (2004)

After his career is sidelined from an unexpected tragedy and a personal blowup, a single man must take care of his precocious daughter.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Betty Aberlin, Raquel Castro, Ben Affleck

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Betty Aberlin	...	Teacher
Matt McFarland	...	Boy #1
Sarah Stafford	...	Girl #1
Paulie Litt	...	Bryan (as Paulie Litowsky)
Christian Fan	...	Boy #3
Victor Chavez	...	Boy #4
William Mace	...	Boy #5
Raquel Castro	...	Gertie Trinke
Ben Affleck	...	Ollie Trinke
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith	...	Susan (as Jennifer Schwalbach)
Jennifer Lopez	...	Gertrude Steiney
George Carlin	...	Bart Trinke
Stephen Root	...	Greenie
Mike Starr	...	Block
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Doctor #1

Storyline

Ollie Trinkie is a publicist, who has a great girlfriend, Gertrude, whom he marries and they are expecting a baby but while he is looking forward to being a father, he doesn't lighten his workload. Gertrude gives birth but dies in the process. Ollie doesn't live up to his responsibilities as a father. Eventually the strain and pressure of losing his wife and being a father gets to him and he has breakdown, which leads to his termination. So with nothing much to do he tries to be good father to his daughter, Gertie. He also meets a young woman name Maya, who likes him but he is still not over his wife.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | publicist | love | death | aneurysm | 

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Taglines:

Forget about who you thought you were, and just accept who you are.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for language and sexual content including frank dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [us] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fatherhood Project

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$167,297 (South Africa) (29 October 2004)

Gross:

$402,997 (South Africa) (12 November 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, View Askew Productions, Beverly Detroit

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's DVD release was promoted with a tongue-in-cheek commercial in which Kevin Smith begs people to buy his DVD so that he has enough money to keep his sexy wife happy.

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Goofs

After their argument, Ollie goes upstairs and sits on Gertie's bed. He finds out that his daughter sleeps with her mother's pictures. Ollie picks up the picture from Gertie's hands, and after she wakes up and they speak, Ollie gives the photo back twice.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Teacher: Everyone, please take your seats. You heard the bell. You know what it means. Last week, the assignment was to write an essay about your family. Who they...
Teacher: [class: "Are!"] And what they...
Teacher: [class: "Mean to us!"] Excellent droning.

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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits, a dedication appears to Kevin Smith's father, who died before the film was released.

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Connections

References Dracula 2000 (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Lets Stay Together"
Written by Al Green, Al Jackson Jr., Willie Mitchell
Performed by Al Green
Courtesy of Hi Records under license from EMI Film and Television Music

User Reviews

I loved it

I find ironic that people who enjoyed Kevin Smith's other movies hated this one. That right there pretty much explains most of the haters (i.e. those recommending Mallrats and JSB over this). I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I was laughing my ass during most of it. I am obviously not an actor, but I didn't find any problems with the acting or the dialogue. It sounded real and believable. Sure, there may moments that are corny or make you want to wince, but every movie has moments like that. Raquel Castro and Liv Tyler really stole the show, George Carlin had just the right pizzaz as a crusty old Pop, and some of us can relate to Ben Affleck's character.