Film

The Good Girl (2001)

Director: Miguel Arteta

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Wasteland, Texas. Justine (Aniston) is a checkout girl at the Retail Rodeo. Husband Phil (Reilly) is a house painter. Every night he comes home and gets stoned with his pal. There must be more to life than this and that? And lo, Holden Worther (Gyllenhaal) catches Justine's eye. Young, intense and sexy Holden 'gets her' in a way she's never been got before. Of course, he might as well have 'disaster area' tattooed on his backside. After so many dire rom coms from absentee 'Friends', here's a comedy with more 'meat', less 'cute'. It was surely brave of Aniston to hook up with the team behind the transgressive indie hit Chuck & Buck; to pull her hair back and twist her pert features into a near permanent funk. And if that was a stretch for Aniston, the movie also requires a mental adjustment on the part of an audience expecting chirpy and light. Chippy and sarcastic, this is a chick flick with an attitude problem. I wish I could say I liked it more, but despite a smattering of priceless moments, The Good Girl gets bogged down in the very narrowness that afflicts Justine. But if it's a bumpy ride, it's still a step in the right direction for Aniston.

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