Jersey Girl (2004)

After his career is sidelined by an unexpected tragedy and a personal blow-up, a single man must take care of his precocious daughter.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro

2 wins & 7 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

Oliver Trinke has always tried to put his Highlands, New Jersey past behind him, but it has been a difficult task for the past six years. Ollie was a successful New York City music publicist. He and his wife Gertrude had a daughter, immediately after which Gertrude died leading to Ollie naming their daughter Gertie. Unprepared to be a father let alone a single father, Ollie, through a single incident largely putting his desire for professional success over his responsibilities as a father, became persona non grata in the entertainment publicity industry, resulting in Ollie and Gertie needing to move back to Highlands, moving in with his father, Bart Trinke, until he got back onto his feet. But unexpectedly for Ollie, getting back on his feet in an immediate sense meant getting a job working side-by-side with Bart in the Borough of Highlands works crew, a job he still has. Ollie still has the desire both to get back to a New York City life and a high powered job as an entertainment ...

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Plot Keywords:

hare krishna | labia | karma | blue bra | sex | 

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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:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Kevin Smith Project

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,319,171, 28 March 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,266,129, 27 June 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax,View Askew Productions,Beverly Detroit

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first of Kevin Smith's films to be rated PG-13 in the U.S., although it was initially rated R, until appeal.

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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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Alternate Versions

Kevin Smith has a three-hour "director's cut" version that has screened in Los Angeles and in New Jersey at his Vulgarthon all-day film events. Smith says he will release the longer version on DVD for the film's eventual tenth anniversary.

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Connections

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

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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

Very Sweet Movie

In New York, the young executive Oliver "Ollie" Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a successful PR of the music industry. He meets and falls in love for Gertrude Steiney (Jennifer Lopez), who soon gets pregnant. However, she dies in the childbirth and Ollie decides to return to his father's home in New Jersey. Pressed by the situation of lonely father, the workaholic Ollie blows-up in an important press conference and makes a fatal statement, losing his job and becoming blacklisted in his publicist career. He promises to be the "best father in the world" to the young Gertie, and stays single, grieving his beloved wife, without dating any woman for seven years and trying to retrieve a position of public relation. One day, he meets the rental clerk Maya (Liv Tyler), they become friends and she helps him to supersede his past life.

"Jersey Girl" is a very sweet movie about family, and honestly I could never expect such sensitive story from Kevin Smith. I like his work a lot, and I have all his movies in my collection. "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" are amazing, and I must confess that I was tired of "Jay and Silent Bob". The shift in his career could not be better. The story is great and very well balanced with drama, comedy and romance. Liv Tyler is fantastic, showing a great chemistry with Ben Affleck. George Carlin is great, without being corny, in the role of Bart Trinke. But the girl Raquel Castro is stunning: very bright and smart, she steals all the scenes and seems to be a future star. I really loved this movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Menina dos Olhos" ("Apple of the Eyes" – meaning something very dear")