The Good Girl (2002) User Reviews

thoughtful slice of life

[cherold · 7/10 · 6 November 2003]

Years ago I had a conversation with some young guy who worked on the loading docks. He was frustrated by his life, felt inarticulate and incapable of escaping his plight or of really doing anything with his life. He had the wish but not the talent to express himself through art and felt he had nothing to look forward to. I thought of him while watching The Good Girl, a movie about a very ordinary person trapped in a hum drum existence.

I've noticed some discussion in these reviews as to whether The Good Girl is a comedy or drama, and I would suggest people stop trying to label the movie. The Good Girl clearly isn't trying to be either, but simply a movie that captures the life of someone who feels trapped, portraying both the drama and comedy inherent in life. It's a small, studied, intelligently written movie that's well worth watching. Don't worry about what it is, just watch it and take it the way you take life, not as a comedy or drama but just as what it is.

Nonchalant both about its brains and its humor

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 25 June 2003]

Jennifer Aniston excels as small town cashier, stifled in a rudderless marriage and miserable at her boring job, who has an affair with a younger co-worker, leading to a series of confounding personal events. Black comedy is initially bright and biting, subtle about its comedic elements and characters while gently satirizing the middle class aesthetic. Unfortunately, the film takes a wrong turn late in the second-half and never quite recovers, leading to an emotionally unsatisfying finish. The performers are all terrific, especially John C. Reilly as Aniston's pot-smoking husband; but, as the screenplay loses steam so do the actors, and the final events are mechanically offbeat--engineered to be quirky. **1/2 from ****

Worth seeing but difficult to really like

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 17 June 2014]

Jennifer Anniston stars as Justine in "The Good Girl", though she is far from being good in this film. Justine is bored with the monotony and lack of direction in her life. She is especially bored with her husband, Phil (John C. Reilly)--a nice but vacuous guy who'd rather smoke pot and drink beer than anything else. So does she go to her husband about her feelings of inadequacy? Nope. Instead she begins an affair with a co-worker--a disaffected goth-like guy named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal). Of course this all ends up in HUGE complications--and what exactly these are you'll have to learn for yourself if you see this movie.

This film about dissatisfaction is well made but also very different. There is no nice object lesson in the film nor are the characters particularly nice folks you could are about when their lives go out of control. It also seems to indicate that when you are in trouble, the best course of action is to lie your butt off! Additionally, horrible things happen to nice people and jerks sometimes land on their feet just fine! Obviously, this film is not one you'll want to show the kids due to these lessons...as well as the sexual behavior. If you love Jennifer Anniston and dark humor (though this isn't exactly a comedy), then the film is clearly for you. Others might find it hard to really care about the film or the characters--making it an odd but skippable curio.

an offbeat gem

[Buddy-51 · 15 September 2002]

Jennifer Anniston gives a beautiful, heartfelt performance in `The Good Girl,' a film totally in tune with the rhythms of everyday life. Anniston' Justine Last is just one of the many people inhabiting this Deep South, Bible Belt town who find themselves leading lives of quiet desperation, imprisoned by the dreary sameness of their daily routines. Justine works at one of those generic five-and-dime drug stores that so define the culture of Middle America. Yet, Justine's job and work environment are not the only sources of her frustration. She is also married to a well-meaning but dull blue collar worker who would rather spend the evening sitting on the sofa getting stoned with his partner than engage in any meaningful relationship-building with his wife. At the age of 30 then, Justine is ripe for some kind of life-changing experience when in walks Holden Worther, an introverted, obviously disturbed young co-worker who sees in Justine the very soul mate he has been searching for all his life, a person who will understand him and share his hatred for the life they are both leading.

`The Good Girl' is really about the contrast between what we would like our lives to be and what they really are. Justine knows that the `easy' choice would be to pull up stakes and simply run away with Holden, abandoning a town, a marriage and a husband she has come lately to both abhor and despise. Yet, something keeps Justine rooted to the spot, something that makes her understand that any decision she makes will end up hurting someone in the end besides herself. Perhaps she sticks around because she realizes that, for all his faults, her husband is, in reality, a pretty decent guy overall and that he really does love her. Perhaps she also realizes that Holden is more mentally disturbed than she is willing to admit and that whatever life she might have with him would only mean exchanging one set of troubles for another. Credit the Mike White screenplay with exploring the complex nature of the film's characters and relationships. We never quite know where the story is headed or how all the issues will get resolved - if at all. As in real life, the story here keeps bumping up against new and ever more challenging complications and, because we can identify with the messiness, we are eager to go along with it wherever it chooses to take us. The film also does a fine job showing how life takes wholly unexpected turns at times, such as when a fairly major character dies unexpectedly. The casual suddenness of the death throws us for a loop since we so rarely see death portrayed that way in the movies.

Miguel Arteta's deadpan, matter-of-fact directorial style brings out the black comedy richness inherent in the material. Amid all the pain and sadness, there are a surprising number of genuine laughs in the film as we see our own lives reflected in the people and incidents there on the screen. Actually, the film reminds us a bit - in its music, its use of voiceover narration and its unromanticized view of rural life - of Terrance Malick's great 1973 film, `Badlands,' a landmark in independent American filmmaking.

Anniston, who is probably in every scene in the film, carries the picture with her rich and highly empathetic performance. Even though her character is a woman slowly becoming deadened to the world around her, she still retains that spark of life and that absurd hope for the future that make her worthy to be the centerpiece of an intimate drama such as this one. Jake Gyllenhaal makes Holden both strangely appealing and a little frightening, so that, as Justine does, we come to admire his `uniqueness' of spirit (he has adopted his name from the main character of his favorite book `Catcher in the Rye') yet fear his increasing possessiveness. John C. Reilly as Justine's husband, Phil, and Deborah Rush as Gwen Jackson, Justine's sometime confidante at the store, also provide memorable, telling performances. In fact, there is nothing less than a superb performance in the entire film.

The question of whether or not Justine is really `a good girl' is, as it should be, left up to the individual viewer to decide. Some may feel she is; others may feel she's not. What really matters, though, is that `The Good Girl' doesn't try to impress us with the slickness that generally defines mainstream commercial filmmaking. Instead it lets its drama unfold in an unforced, believable manner, so that even its moments of greatest absurdity seem somehow strangely real and lifelike. It is a film that, in its own quiet, subtle way, manages to get under your skin - and keeps you thinking for a long time after you leave the theater.

So-So Dramatic Vehicle for Aniston

[evanston_dad · 6/10 · 5 December 2005]

"The Good Girl" was heavily touted as the film that would help Jennifer Aniston break from her Rachel persona and make the leap to dramatic film actress. There was even talk (however brief) about an Academy Award nomination for her when this film came out. Surprise, surprise, but that didn't happen. And where has Aniston's film career been since? "The Good Girl" is leaps and bounds better than any of Aniston's other ventures into film--bland crap like "Picture Perfect" and that other movie whose name I can't even remember--but it's not a great movie in and of itself.

Aniston does a pretty good job, but you still can't escape the suspicion that she's just playing Jennifer Aniston, albeit a drabbed down version of herself. This movie's greatest asset is its supporting cast, particularly Zooey Deschanel in a very funny, dead pan role as a fellow worker at the Wal-Mart-esquire store Aniston's character works in, and Jake Gyllenhaal, who had begun his trek to stardom the year before in "Donnie Darko." The gods were being kind to Gyllenhaal in 2002, as he got to make out with both Aniston and Catherine Keener ("Lovely and Amazing") in the same year.

"The Good Girl" is certainly worth watching. It captures that nowheresville feeling of small-town America perfectly, the antithesis of every Frank Capra movie on the same subject. Instead of a cosy town where everyone knows your name, these towns are instead full of bored, restless people sitting around waiting for something, anything, to happen.

Grade: B-

The movie is good. The girl? Not so much.

[MBunge · 7/10 · 9 August 2010]

If you crossed The Catcher in the Rye and Madame Bovary and set the result in a small Texas town, it would be something like this film. It has all the angst and adolescent turmoil of the former and the emotional desolation and individual isolation of the former. Toss in the work of a fine cast and the star power of Jennifer Aniston and you've got yourself a funny, touching movie.

Justine Last (Jennifer Aniston) is a 30 year old woman who got married too soon and has found herself trapped in a boring job and to a pot-headed house painter. Stewing in her own misanthropy, Justine is only roused from her self-pity and self-destructive anger by a young man who gets a job at the Retail Rodeo where Justine works. The 22 year old (played by Jake Gyllenhall) calls himself Holden, after the J.D. Salinger character, and refers to the name his parents gave him as his "slave name". Those two things tell you pretty much everything there is to know about him. Justine begins an affair with Holden, if you can call sex in a motel after work an affair, and it seems to brighten up Justine's miserable existence. But Justine soon realizes that Holden, for all his overly-sensitive pretensions, is just an angry and unstable boy who has fixated on her as the answer to all his dreams. Then her husband's best friend uncovers her infidelity, touching off a chain of events that forces Justine to choose between the life she thinks she hates and another existence she can't even imagine.

I quite liked this film. It's smart and honest and has just a bit of snark, while acknowledging how immature such snark usually is. The Good Girl makes you think about personal unhappiness and the choices and attitudes that create it. The main characters of Justine and Holden are terribly discontented with their lives, yet as the story goes along it makes you understand that probably none of the characters are living the lives of their dreams. The difference is they aren't torturing themselves and everyone else over it. Most movies that focus on the quiet desperation of ordinary life either embrace too completely the idea that normal, unexceptional lives are awful things or they are too viciously judgmental of such common angst. The Good Girl takes a more mature and measured perspective. It validates Justine's unhappiness with the life she chose by marrying the first man she really loved but holds her accountable for not making the best of that life. Her actual problem isn't her circumstances. It's her own lack of ambition or imagination to do anything to improve them.

As the story unfolds, you can see that the other characters have found ways to deal with their individually unsatisfying lives. Justine's husband smokes pot to escape. The security guard at the Retail Rodeo has his religious faith. An older co-worker of Justine's has a stoic determination to make the best of things and a disdain for those who don't. A younger co-worker uses snide sarcasm to lash out at a world that doesn't meet her standards. But they all do something, while Justine and Holden just wallow in their anger and resentments.

Now, there's a subplot in the story involving the best friend of Justine's husband that's much more over-the-top and overtly self-aware than the rest of the movie. It explicitly details some of the themes that remain under the surface of the rest of the film and you might find it either bracing or off putting. I suppose it depends on your tolerance for a smart script hitting you over the head a few times to make sure you get its point.

Jennifer Aniston got a lot of praise when this movie first came out and it was deserved. She's able to convey the subtle nature of Justine's passivity so that you can empathize with the character, even when she's not all that sympathetic. Jake Gyllenhall is also very good with the dual nature of Holden. On the one hand you can see how Justine was attracted to him as a kindred spirit, but on the other hand Gyllenhall always keeps the stunted emotional side of Holden in view of both Justine and the audience. John C. Reilly as Justine's husband does some nice work as well. He takes a character that is supposed to be dumber and shallower than either Justine or Holden and makes him into a person and not a plot device.

There have been a lot of independent films made about the ordinary lives or ordinary people. Most of them suck because they're made by filmmakers who either hate such ordinary people or see their lives as nothing more than metaphors to be exploited. The Good Girl does none of that, which makes it a movie worth seeing.

Patronising, if occasionally effective, satire on small-town America

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 25 September 2006]

One of the risks of starring in a highly successful TV series is that of becoming forever typecast in similar roles. An example was "Six Days, Seven Nights" in which David Schwimmer essentially played Ross from "Friends" under another name. In "The Good Girl", Schwimmer's co-star Jennifer Aniston appears to be trying to escape this trap by getting as far away as she can from her yuppie-chick Rachel character. She plays Justine, a thirty-something checkout clerk in a downmarket small-town supermarket. We learn that seven years earlier Justine had the opportunity to go to college, but turned it down for fear of losing her boyfriend Phil. This was a bad move. Phil, now Justine's husband, is a dull, boorish slob who, when not working as a painter, spends all his time with his good friend Bubba watching TV or getting stoned. (The name Bubba seems to be cinematic shorthand for "redneck poor white trash"). Phil and Bubba's one gesture in the direction of unconventionality is that their drug of choice is an illegal one (cannabis) rather than the more socially acceptable alcohol.

It is a stock Hollywood cliché that life is only worth living if one has the good fortune to live in a major city on America's East or West coast. The Middle American small town, even if it appears happy and tranquil at first sight, is generally portrayed as a pretty hellish place to live, and the Texas town where Justine lives does not even bother trying to hide its hellishness behind a façade of happiness and tranquillity. Yet, even though the main characteristic of life in the town seems to be a soul-destroying dullness, the only people who are seriously discontented with their lot are Justine and her workmate Holden Worther, a young man in his early twenties.

Holden's real name (or, as he puts it, his "slave name") is Tom, but he has renamed himself after the hero of "Catcher in the Rye". That should have been a clue to his real character, but Justine has presumably never read Salinger's novel and so misses this obvious danger signal. Holden is a geeky loner, obsessed with the idea that he is misunderstood by an uncaring society. He sees the equally malcontent Justine as a kindred spirit and the two embark on an affair. From Justine's point of view, this proves to be an even worse move than her marriage to Phil, as Holden is not only possessive but also mentally unbalanced. Worse still, their affair is discovered by Bubba, who has long cherished an unrequited lust for Justine and takes the opportunity to blackmail her into sleeping with him. Justine begins to wonder whether she might not be better off with Phil after all; he may be a slob, but he is, basically, a decent-hearted slob. He is one of the few major characters in this film who never does anything spiteful or mean-minded.

The film does not take its subject-matter altogether seriously, but for most of the time its overall tone is not so much one of humour- not even black humour- but what might best be described as ironical distancing. There are, however, some effective pieces of satire. Cheryl, another of Justine's colleagues, uses the supermarket's public address system to insult customers, generally without them noticing. A vegetarian health-food zealot dies of food poisoning after eating contaminated blackberries. A fire-and-brimstone Christian fundamentalist turns out to be a hypocrite and a creepy pervert. (Actually, that last one is probably not satire, just Hollywood's standard view of conservative Christianity).

Aniston is reasonably good as Justine, although I did not think her performance merited an Oscar nomination, as some have suggested. Most of the other actors turn in good performances, within the limits of the one-dimensional way in which most of the characters are written. The film's main drawback is that, like a number of satires aimed at small-town America, it tends to stereotype and patronise its subjects. It seems to be written from the standpoint that Holden and Justine are to be pitied because they are so miserable at having to live in such a godforsaken place and that all the other townspeople are to be pitied because they are so stupid that they do not realise how miserable they are. (It must be said, however, that "The Good Girl" is far from being the worst offender in this respect- that probably being the crude and ill-natured "Drop Dead Gorgeous"). It seems to be aiming to do for rural small towns what "American Beauty" did for suburbia, but lacks the spiritual insight or depth of meaning of the earlier film. 6/10.

A pretty good movie

[jaroddfinch · 6/10 · 6 April 2021]

I just watch this for the first time I'm a big fan of Jennifer Anniston I thought this movie was pretty good the plot and the story was good and i like mike white he a good actor and writter if you looking for a Jennifer Anniston movie check this one out.

A fine movie

[rbverhoef · 9/10 · 22 October 2003]

'The Good Girl' is a sad comedy starring Jennifer Aniston as Justine. She works at Retail Rodeo where she is very unhappy. When she comes home she finds her husband Phil (John C. Reilly) stoned on the couch with his best friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson) night after night. It is not very strange she is attracted to Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) the new kid who comes to work at Retail Rodeo. He is even more depressed than she is, he reads The Catcher in the Rye and has named himself after that book. Soon she starts an affair with him and one night Bubba sees them together. Bubba makes his own little plan.

A thing that surprised me was the great acting. John C. Reilly, who was in every great movie in 2002 (also 'Gangs of New York', 'Chicago' and 'The Hours'), is great as the husband, Jake Gyllenhaal terrific as the disturbed kid and most of all Jennifer Aniston is superb as Justine. Here she everything but Rachel from 'Friends' and that is a very good thing. She is really acting and it is one of the best performances of 2002.

The sad story is very good as well and there is some fine comedy, especially with another worker at Retail Rodeo names Cheryl (Zooey Deschanel). She insults customers all the time and says the strangest things; the customers hardly notice. Funny, sad and very good is what 'The Good Girl' is in the end.

"The Good Girl" deserves at least 7 stars for its exceptional performances, nuanced storytelling, and cinematic craftsmanship.

[kumarkyle · 7/10 · 30 September 2023]

"The Good Girl" is a captivating film that navigates the complexities of human relationships with a unique blend of dark humor and poignant drama. Released in 2002, this indie gem directed by Miguel Arteta stands out for its strong performances, thought-provoking narrative, and refreshing departure from conventional romantic comedies.

Outstanding Performances: The cast, led by Jennifer Aniston in a departure from her typical roles, delivers exceptional performances. Aniston's portrayal of Justine Last, a discontented discount store employee, is a testament to her versatility as an actress. Supporting performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, and Zooey Deschanel add depth to the ensemble.

Nuanced Storytelling: "The Good Girl" explores the human condition with nuance and subtlety. The narrative delves into the struggles of small-town life, the consequences of unfulfilled dreams, and the complexities of infidelity. The film's willingness to tackle dark themes sets it apart from typical romantic dramas.

Cinematic Craftsmanship: Miguel Arteta's direction, along with the cinematography by Enrique Chediak, creates an intimate atmosphere that complements the film's themes. The use of muted colors and subtle lighting enhances the overall melancholic tone, providing a visual representation of the character's emotional struggles.

Character Development: The film excels in character development, allowing the audience to empathize with the flaws and dilemmas of the characters. Justine's journey, in particular, is a compelling exploration of self-discovery and the consequences of life-altering decisions.

Pacing Issues: Some viewers may find the pacing of the film to be slow, especially in the first act. The deliberate pacing, however, contributes to the film's contemplative atmosphere and allows for a more in-depth exploration of its themes.

Ambiguous Ending: The film concludes with an ambiguous ending that might leave some viewers craving a more definitive resolution. However, the open-ended nature of the conclusion aligns with the film's overall tone and thematic exploration.

"The Good Girl" is worth watching for its authenticity, tackling of unconventional themes, and the standout performances of its cast. It's a film that invites reflection on the complexities of human relationships and the pursuit of happiness. The willingness to defy genre expectations and deliver a story that lingers in the mind sets it apart as a memorable cinematic experience.

The Worst Movie Ever.

[spacey4 · 1/10 · 11 January 2006]

omg though, this MARRIED women starts an affair with this disturbed, depressed guy who has gone his whole with with no one understanding him, but he thinks that this women "gets" him and his really happy, but after a while she starts to not like him anymore but he really loves her and refuses to live without her. so even though SHE started it during the movie she tries to kill him, send him to a mental hospital, she breaks his heart like 3 times, and then she sends the police after him even though shes having his baby which she has said is her husbands not his, in the end she lives happily ever after, and he kills himself. I hated this movie with a passion, it was awful, and sad, and what jokes were made weren't funny. I'm sorry that I watched it.

Touching, Compelling, Perfectly Ordinary

[clarkykins · 10/10 · 9 March 2004]

This movie is great, in my opinion, because its so misunderstood. Its so simple! The dialogue is not heavy, but it is perfectly articulated and emotional, and delivered brilliantly by Jennifer Aniston, who really shines as Justine, a small town girl who wants to get away from the monotony of life. Jake Gyllenhaal's role as a Holden Caulfield wannabe is well pulled off. I particularly liked how depressingly un attractive his drunken dramas were. You could see so many emotions in Justine, trying to ignore what she didn't like about him, trying to find something to love about him. Though my all time favourite aspect of the movie is the painfully realistic awkward sex and kissing. With an extreme but none the less effective ending, I'd easily give this film a biased 9/10! A little slice of real life, for a change.

Hard decisions... and blackberries

[sol- · 7/10 · 24 January 2016]

Mostly memorable for Jennifer Aniston's lead performance, 'The Good Girl' offers the Golden Globe actress perhaps her finest acting hour, cast here as an unhappily married store clerk who sees life passing her by. The promise of something new, exciting and different comes in the form of a much younger coworker who fancies her, but is there really a possible 'happily ever after' scenario for them? And does she really love him or simply what he represents with his championing of 'The Catcher in the Rye' and ramblings about defying social norms? Their affair eventually leads to a fork in the road in which Aniston is forced to make a choice and her decision, while perplexing at first, seems simply inevitable in retrospect. The film is well acted by not only Aniston, but also a stellar supporting cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Zooey Deschanel, 'Zodiac''s John Carroll Lynch, John C. Reilly and Tim Blake Nelson, and yet, the film does not quite have the same effect upon revision. The script relies heavily on elements of surprise for impact and none of the twists (other than Aniston's choice at end) have that much power once one knows they are coming. The philosophical voice over narration also seems to spell about a bit too much, especially concerning Nelson's character, upon revision. Aniston's internal strife resonates either way though, and her down-to-earth performance ensures that the film is engaging the whole through. 'The Good Girl' might not be a flawless film, however, if nothing else it will make you think twice before eating blackberries again!

wow, what a misnomer

[moxcey5219 · 1/10 · 13 February 2003]

Okay, my wife is a huge Jennifer Aniston fan, she has all of her movies, and watches Friends every night. Well she rented this movie and watched it. Wow, she calls me to the bedroom and tells me that this is the worst movie she has ever seen, she went to the video store and asked for her money back. If you want to watch a better role by Ms. Aniston, then pick up Leprechaun, at least you will get more laughs out of it. That is not even from me, that is from a die hard Jennifer Aniston fan. Please do yourselves a favor, don't rent or watch this film, for fear of, as in Billy Madison, all being stupider for having suffered through this pile of rubbish....Watch "She's the One" i even liked this film, that is a good film, not the Good Girl,, if i could have voted 0 then my wife would have been even happier....

Downbeat but engaging

[bob the moo · 1 September 2003]

Justine works at a supermarket in a small town and is married to her underachieving painter husband. She feels trapped and unable to deal with the stagnant pool that is her life. When a mysteriously dark young man begins to work at the supermarket she gets involved with him as a way out of her normal life into something more exciting. However things get much more exciting that she expected.

Rented by my wife as she searched for something in a sort of comedy/drama. As always she has pretty good judgement and better taste than I give her credit for. I had heard reasonable things about this film but I wasn't sure if it would just be another Friends clone comedy. Happily my fears were not realised and this film is actually quite a brave shot at being a character study rather than another one of her hollow rom-coms. The plot looks at an ordinary woman who is living a life that is far below what she thought she wanted. It is not spectacular but it works well on this level. We see her pursue her supposed dream but only getting sucked into other things that she doesn't want for her life. Not all the drama works as well as others and some twists and scenes are a little too much for such a low-key film.

The film has some laughs in it, but not so many that it hurts the main drama of the film. At times the comedy works well to compliment the main thread but occasionally it is misjudged and threatens to take away from it a bit. The fact that the film is quite down beat and low-key might put some off as it doesn't really set the screen on fire, however what it does do well is develop the character of Justine as you watch the film.

As such the film does rely on the acting and the majority of it is very good. As much as I dislike her performance in Friends (and thus every repeat she's done in the films), Aniston does very well here and her Justine is as far from her Rachael as is needed. Likewise her character is as far from any life she has ever lived, but she brings it to life and does develop well while still keeping it down to earth and relatable. Reilly and Nelson have good roles that get better as the film goes on and they give good performances. Nelson has the harder job of keeping his character within some sort of relatable reality and he does it well. Gyllenhaal's character is harder to get and is not treated as well by the film, but in essence he is the driver for Justine's journey and is developed well enough to do that. He plays him well and, with Donnie Darko, is in danger of only getting the `weirdo kid' roles.

Overall this is a good film that is maybe too downbeat and understated to be really called enjoyable. It is good to see a Hollywood star make a film that is driven by her character and she rises to the challenge and gives a performance that, although not earth shattering, is certainly better than all the stuff she's been doing of late.

Aniston's best role

[Anas_Dh · 6/10 · 14 August 2019]

A great drama about love, purpose and adultery. If you're an Aniston fan this is a must.

It's a character actor's Hall of Fame with Jen as the curator

[Twins65 · 7/10 · 18 February 2005]

Let's see---we've got "Norm" from FARGO (John Carroll Lynch), "Reed Rothchild" from BOOGIE NIGHTS (John C. Reilly), "Ned Schneebly" from SCHOOL OF ROCK (Mike White), "Delmar" from O BROTHER (Tim Blake Nelson), "William Miller's sister" from ALMOST FAMOUS (Zooey Deschanel), and "Michelle's mother" {but really "Willow's mom"} (Deborah Rush) from American WEDDING. Oh, and it's nice to see the former bass player from X still getting work, but he seems to get fewer and fewer lines in movies as he gets older. Add a decent script by White, throw in pretty good performances by leads Jennifer Aniston and DONNIE DARKO himself (Jake Gyllenhaal), and you've got yourself a pretty decent hour-and-a-half movie.

I laughed out loud a few times (the sperm-donor scene and Bubba trying to settle down his pooch when he gets his five minutes on top of Justine come to mind).

But I really didn't know whether to be happy Justine pretty much got a free pass for all of her "philandering and abetting" (not to mention the aborted poisoning attempt), or feel sorry for her having what looks like a life of misery awaiting at the Retail Rodeo. You'll have to make your own call on that.

endorse the comments of juliejuliette

[ellerveira · 7/10 · 16 May 2006]

Juliejuliette has it right. Aniston plays a girl who is weak and selfish, without any real character. She first seduces an unhappy and introverted young man well played by Gyllenhaal (who is not as disturbed as some viewers think) who is looking for love and when he falls hopelessly in love with her she then finds him a danger to her marriage and betrays him, getting rid of him and driving him to suicide. She doesn't seem to feel very guilty about what she has done and only minimally sad. She is an opportunist who runs away from responsibility for what she does. At the end she is lying to her husband to preserve a marriage she doesn't like. In all she is the opposite of a good girl, and I suppose the title is meant ironically. The movie does present her and her dubious morality in a realistic way. There is nothing sentimental about it.

Good performances, average writing

[bartleby1972 · 7/10 · 20 July 2003]

While not without its flaws, this film does have many favorable points that overshadow those flaws. Its biggest asset is the acting: from the leads on down to the smaller roles, there is not a single performance in the film that comes off as forced or ungenuine. Aniston's quiet desperation is a perfect foil for both Gyllenhaal's intense bipolarism and Reilly's clueless self-satisfaction; Nelson, whose character, Bubba, starts out seeming like a leering, sexist pig, allows the viewer to see Bubba's hidden depths, as a man who has spent his whole life watching his best friend get all of the things he's always wanted for himself--and quietly resents him for it; Zooey Deschanel provides the laughs as Cheryl, a fellow Retail Rodeo clerk who alleviates her boredom and dissatisfaction by tormenting her customers and boss with her sarcastic wit; and as the doomed Gwen, whose death provides the movie with one of its most pivotal moments, Deborah Rush exudes a cheeriness and optimism that endears her to the viewer, even as it gets on the nerves of the other characters in the film. Only film writer Mike White, who appears as security guard / Nazarene bible study leader Corny, hits a few wrong notes, playing his character as a stereotypical annoying bible-thumper who believes that even the biggest disasters are God's will and should be celebrated. One gets the feeling that he is trying to parody the stereotype, but if so, he falls well short of the goal. The smugness and self-righteousness of the character is enough to make the viewer cheer when he receives his rough (if somewhat undeserved) comeuppance in the end. In terms of writing and direction, the film is average. Usually, really good films do one of two things: they either provide the viewer with an entertaining escape from the cares of their everyday lives, or they offer wisdom or some new observation about life. This film does neither. It is unrelenting in its depressive feel; even the glimmers of humor sprinkled throughout are derived from the characters' depression and loneliness. While it is good at conveying the story of one woman's attempt at breaking through the barriers of her life, it presents her, in the end, with a choice that is just as confining as the life she wants to escape: she can either doom her character to a non-existence as mother and wife and retail clerk, or she can doom her character to a non-existence as mother and lover and fugitive from the law. Either way, she no longer retains her status as "The Good Girl", because if she does stay, the news of her affair with her co-worker will haunt her forever; indeed, you get the feeling, in the end, that the only person in whose eyes she'll be elevated is the sarcastic Cheryl. The futility of life has been presented in other films before; the difference being, in this film, the viewer has actually been led to care deeply for this character, and wants to see her end up with something more. The fact that she doesn't--that she CAN'T--makes the viewer feel more than a little cheated. Despite this flaw, however, the script is heartfelt, and the characters (with the above-noted exception of Corny) so real that you feel like you know them intimately. Arteta's direction and pacing never lets the story slow down or become mired in its own quagmire of self-importance. Perhaps, if this film hadn't been touted as a comedy, then it wouldn't have been such a letdown to watch it and see it for what it really is: a well-acted romantic drama about people headed for their own personal dead ends.

Better than I was expecting but I wouldn't label it a comedy

[juneebuggy · 8/10 · 22 July 2015]

Well this ended up being better than I was expecting as it wasn't the usual Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy (which all tend to blend together). Aniston is still another version of Rachael Green just more bored and depressed here. She does put on a great southern accent though, and outdoes herself in the wardrobe department, donning ugly sweaters and unflattering mom jeans throughout.

The movie is plugged as a comedy but honestly its fairly depressing, just kinda miserable and cheerless throughout following 'Justine' a frustrated 30 year old wife and grocery store cashier who is bored, depressed, stuck in a dead end job and married to a stoner (John C. Reilly). Her life changes when she begins an affair with a co-worker, (Jake Gyllenhaal). The story didn't at all go where I was expecting it to, entering some very dark areas.

Gyllenhaal does a great job here, he is young, intense and crazy. I also enjoyed John C. Reilly, as the husband, he's always the "nice guy" and is here too. Zooey Deschanel's character was very funny and probably the only ray of light in this. Lots of decent acting from sub characters though including John Carroll Lynch as the manager of the Retail Rodeo grocery store -which is where much of this movie takes place, the boredom and mundaneness was well represented there.

A bit of a surprise hit for me. 7/5/15

Nicely underplayed and darkly humorous tale of a small town wife

[LouE15 · 7/10 · 9 November 2006]

From the pleasingly ironic title to the spot-on central performances, this film tips a small-town life upside down and inspects, with a sardonic eye, the bleak tumbling contents. It reminds me a little of a Mike Leigh film transposed to America. The whole film's tone is very dark and dead-pan, blackly – bleakly – humorous, and notable for being Jennifer Aniston's great escape from the enduring hell of the doomed Friends cast. She's surprisingly good as Justine, the bored wife of the title, kicking at the bars of her cage, finding out that the door may be just turn out to be another cage. Jake Gyllenhaal is surely going to be one of the standout actors of his generation. He does another convincing job here as volatile Holden, in what is essentially a role that merely drives the plot forwards for our 'heroine'. John C Reilly is excellent in a thankless, low-key role as the doped-up unimaginative hubby. Senor Tuna, anyone? Everybody's trying to escape.

This is no chick flick, and will probably only be enjoyed by those with a pretty dark or dry sense of humour. While Justine may not always be likable, she is certainly very fallible, very human. You'd have to be fairly saintly not to feel some compassion for her mounting predicaments, even while laughing, or feeling increasing detachment or even revulsion as you watch the steps she takes to overcome them. Aniston and Gylenhaal generate very feeling chemistry in their scenes together; but the tender moments give way to an increasingly sad and literal struggle for Justine to keep her head above water. There's no ultimate triumph, only a vivid sense of how far a human being is prepared to go to survive. Subtle direction, nice underplaying by the cast and a well realised sense of place, all in all a very likable, left-of-field film.

This is not cinema. Awful!

[cicerobuck · 1/10 · 3 July 2003]

Did they try to marry American beauty with a Cohen Brother movie? Well, we ended up with a lesson of what not to do in cinema! Boring second lead characters with no impact on the story except vulgar jokes... Aniston can't escape her Friends character and manages to annoy me simply because of the way she walks and looks at other characters... Why would this girl suddenly decide she wants to change her ways and her life? There's no reason such a character with her upbringing would have this kind of dynamics, at least not with the poor exposition we get... Totally dull and pretentious! 1/10

A Deep and Dramatic Story About Frustration in Life With Touches of Black Humor

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 3 October 2003]

Justine (the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston) is a thirty years old, frustrated and married woman, bored with her monotonous life. She works as a clerk in a supermarket, and none of her dreams has come through. She quit schooling just before going to the college, she got married very young, she got trapped in a small town in a job without any perspective and even her expectation of being mother is not being accomplished. Her husband Phil (John C. Reilly, an excellent and underrated actor) is a house painter, who gets stoned most of the vacant time, as a form of escaping his life, with his colleague and best friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). Their entertainment is watching a noisy TV at night. One day, Justine meets her new colleague Holden Worther (Jack Gyllenhaal), a strange ex-addicted and drunken guy, who wants to be a writer. Justine feels a type of attraction for him, which grows to a crush, ending in an affair. The cuckold and naive Phil does not suspect of the situation. Then, the screenplay presents many plot points, alternating dramatic situations with a very black humor. This is indeed a deep movie, with very well developed characters. Basically all of them have a sort of frustration in life, like all of us, which is revealed along the story. The black humor is proportioned in doses to relieve the tension in many situations. Jennifer Aniston proves that she is an excellent actress, able to conduct and carry out a dense movie. Many persons just know her work as Rachel in `Friends', and just expect her to perform foolish roles. For them, I suggest for example, to watch `The Object of My Affection'. I am very suspicious to write about Jennifer Aniston, since I am a great fan of her, but she has a great performance in this film. Of course, the supporting actors and actresses and the direction are also superb. It is ridiculous the classification of comedy for such a movie. This type of classification certainly misleads the viewer and affects the evaluation. This is a movie that deserves to be watched more than once. My vote is nine.

Justine was not Justified, but the Story was well Refined.

[FallenEye · 7/10 · 12 November 2021]

The Good Girl is a well made film depicting what can, but of course not always, be the daunting outcome of aimlessness, stagnation, and messiness attached to the reality of pure ordinary.

The way in which the characters were written, especially Justine, Phil and Bubba, was actually rather remarkable, and the simplicity of their dynamic was extremely interesting and well captured.

While watching this movie, I certainly did feel the abyss Justine was going through, however, I also did feel that her circumstance did not justify what she did to Phil, while Bubba's motives were highly understandable, yet what he too did to Phil was disappointingly underhanded, hence the aimlessness and messiness. Phil's first fault was not being ambitious, but that is not a fault, it is a human characteristic that can rightfully be had without shame, especially because it seemed fairly clear that for Phil, Justine was his proud achievement, though he appeared to take her for granted, which was his second fault, adding to the messiness of it all. Also, the way the movie ended, with us not knowing who the father is, and Phil not knowing all that had been done to him, truly wraps up the theme of this movie very well.

Holden was an obvious bad judgement from the word go, and it is for that reason we could truly understand Justine's stagnation, as it compounded the depiction of how stuck she was, in a pointless job and aimless town, with a content husband, and crazy lover.

All the actors did a really good job in their roles, the pacing of the movie was steady and consistent, the story was grounded and real, and the characters were written very well, while the ending was quite a creatively illustrated dichotomy.

7.4/10.

Awful

[faithless85 · 1/10 · 20 June 2006]

I saw this film a couple of years ago, and it is possibly the worst film I have EVER seen! It was so bad that I stuck it out till the very end convinced there must be some saving grace, but there wasn't.. A mind numbing storyline with a predictable plot, this film really wasn't worth the time it took to watch it. I can honestly say, closely rivalling the war of the worlds remake, this is the worst film I have ever seen. A big disappointment as a Jennifer Aniston fan :( The story is very slow moving and not particularly captivating. I am surprised this has such a high IMDb rating. It took a very long time to get in to and was hardly worth the effort once I got there. I watched this with friends who were all of the same opinion. It bored me to the point I couldn't believe I was still watching it.