Jersey Girl (2004)

A widower must look after his precocious daughter and rebuild his life and career after he's sidelined by an unexpected tragedy and a personal blowup.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro

2 wins & 8 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's been difficult for the past six years. He was a successful New York City music publicist, but after his wife Gertrude died immediately after delivering their daughter Gertie. unprepared Ollie became persona non grata in the entertainment publicity industry through a single incident largely putting his desire for professional success over his responsibilities as a father, and he returned to Highlands and he and Gertie moved in with his own father, Bart, until he could get back on his feet. That meant working side-by-side with Bart in the Borough of Highlands works crew, a job he still has. He also still has the desire to get back to a New York City life and a high-powered job as an entertainment publicist, despite learning to be a responsible, loving father to Gertie, who has only known Highlands life and likes everything about it, including her daddy and Bart, her "Pop." As Ollie tries to realize...

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ben Affleck's character says "Daddy doesn't want to drive the Batmobile," but later he would, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

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Goofs

When Ollie is going upstairs to give his baby daughter a bottle, he tries to feed the baby by putting the bottle top near the baby's mouth, then he lays right next to the baby, then it disappears.

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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

THE DIRECTOR WOULD LIKE TO THANK: God - Who still seems to be a fan of mine. And vice versa. Jenny - The proof that God's still a fan. I love you so, so much, my muse. Scott - Love you too. You're the James Brown of film, dude. Mom - Thanks for raising me right. Harley - The original Jersey Girl. Gail and Byron - The Glue. Philbert - aka Mosier Junior. Laura - She who makes it all happen. Lehrman - An A.D. so good, he was practically the D. Vilmos - The master of light. Ben - You were flat out brilliant. George - Funny, smart, and a great actor. It's just not fair. Liv - My new favorite actress. You elevated Maya. Raquel - Kid, you're a star. Jen - Who inspired Ben to greatness and while being great herself. Root and Starr - The mid-life Jay and Silent Bob. Biggs - You've now lived down the Pie. Betty - The best teacher the kids could have. Will - I love you all the way to the moon and back down to the dirt. The Crew - The true filmmakers. Carol - For riding shotgun. Sue - For grace under pressure. Charlie - For our third act show-stopper. Jon G. - Officially Miramax, unofficially View Askew. You're the fourth Beatle, dude. Harvey - For an excellent suggestion. Phil - My deal-maker and friend. Sloss - The legal eagle. Pierson - Who keeps me honest. Mas - For support from day one. Sondheim - For "Sweeney" in both our movie and real life. The Boss - For lending us his art. Twice. Stevie, Aimee, Ben, and Pete - For flick-defining tunes. Joey, Zack, and Donald - For lots of Crystal Light, Baja Fresh chicken, and smoke runs. Carol - Who keeps me rolling in dough. Ming - The Architect. Chappy - My merch partner in crime. The City of Philadelphia - For being great hosts. The Town of Paulsboro - For the locations and the street. The Town of Highlands - For giving a fat kid a nice place to grow up. And the Tabloids - For nothing. When in Red Bank, New Jersey, visit Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. When in Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, Red Bank, New Jersey, purchase a ton of quality merchandise manufactured by Graphitti Designs.

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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 Stakeout (1987)

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Soundtracks

High
Written by Perry Bamonte, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson (as Paul S. Thompson) and Boris Williams
Performed by The Cure
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Company/Polydor UK. LTd.
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

I left this on the shelf far too long

So after reading many a disconsolate review from Kevin Smith fans I decided to purchase the DVD anyway. Yet all the negative comments had left their toll on me and the DVD stayed on the shelf in its shrink wrapper for FAR TOO LONG. You motor heads! Yes this movie is sweet and yes it's sometimes even sickly but it's endearing and moving. Ben Athleck switches in and out of competence a few too many times to make his performance IMO a completely solid one but frankly he does a good job of holding all the disparate threads of the movie together.

If you want to live in 1994 dick & fart jokes then simply put Clerks in the DVD player and play it again! However each of Kevin's films go someway in their own right into the exploration of inter-personal relationships and the impact of consequence in our daily lives. Jersey Girl is no different in this respect than Clerks.

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:

Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,300,000, 28 March 2004

Gross USA:

$25,268,157

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$35,492,921

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