Anyone who's ever looked at their life and asked, "Is this it?" will appreciate "The Good Girl," an edgy and touching film starring Jennifer Aniston.
The story seems predictable, but isn't, and although it's simple and straightforward, there's a lot churning beneath the surface.
Thirty-year-old Justine Last (Aniston) works as a cosmetics clerk at The Retail Rodeo (think Wal-Mart with a Southern drawl.) She has been married for seven years to Phil (John C. Reilly), a simple, good-natured house painter with a regimented daily routine of smoking pot and watching TV with his best friend, Bubba.
Justine's inability to conceive a child with Phil makes her question her entire life. She eventually concludes that she's married to a fool and working a dead-end job. Consequently, she allows herself to fall for Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), a 22-year-old withdrawn writer who also works at the Rodeo. The two believe they are misunderstood by the world and begin a torrid affair in a cheap motel. Before long, despite weak efforts to keep the romance a secret, nosy small-towners realize what's going on, and Justine is forced to decide between her safe-but-mundane life with Phil and a directionless existence with the unstable-and-passionate Holden.
Aniston is wonderful. She pulls off the Southern accent like a Lone Star native, and never once reminds us of Rachel Green, her character on "Friends."
Reilly is also completely believable as Phil, Justine's husband. He is a fool and an oaf, but his love for his wife never wavers, even when he learns of her affair with Holden. His lines are some of the film's funniest, like when he's on the way to Bible study and says, "I just don't know what to say about Jesus. I'm stoned."
Zooey Deschanel ("Almost Famous") gives a stellar performance as Cheryl, another bored Rodeo cosmetics clerk who's always on the verge of getting canned. Creative, rebellious and underchallenged, Cheryl gives clownish makeovers to old women, insisting they are "French," and cracks comments like, "We try to keep frivilous law suits to a minimum unless of course the customer is at fault."
The film's exploration of irony is a bit obvious. Gwen, a healthy vegetarian coworker, dies from ingesting parasitic blueberries, and a Jesus-praising Bible-banger appreciates watching stuff get blown-up on television.
The movie ends in tragedy (enough said) and compassion. After Phil forgives Justine for cheating with Holden, he gets high, and for the first time, Justine understands that Phil's pot-smoking, like her affair, is an escape from a very small life.
However, we realize that although it seems Phil's pot smoking isn't hurtful to anyone -- unlike Justine and Holden's affair -- it may be the reason why the couple can't get pregnant. It's subtle complexities like this one that save the film from being over simplified, and also make it difficult to decide who's good and who isn't.
"The Good Girl" opens Fri., Aug. 23 at Landmark's Oriental Theater.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
