The Good Girl

Director Miguel Arteta's previous film was 'Chuck and Buck', a psychosexual tragicomedy about a strange man who wants nothing in his life or relationships to undergo change. His new film, 'The Good Girl', veers off in the opposite direction, portraying a woman whose disappointment and discontent make her leap at the first opportunity for change.

Long-time employee of the local Retail Rodeo, and married since the age of twenty three, at thirty Justine Last has settled into a predictable routine of daytime drudgery and evening television. Then an ill wind blows young checkout assistant 'Holden' Worther into Justine's life, and soon she is forced to choose between what she has and the possibility of escape.

As Justine, Jennifer Aniston does her best to escape her own past, cultivating a Texan drawl and washed-out look to take her as far from her familiar 'Friends' persona as possible. Jake Gyllenhaal's role as J.D. Salinger fanatic 'Holden' is, on the other hand, an exact composite of his two previous parts: he has an affair with an older colleague, as in 'Lovely and Amazing'; and he is a disturbed young man caught in a diabolical tragedy, as in 'Donnie Darko'. Finally John C. Reilly, who has recently made something of a career out of playing clueless husbands ('Chicago', 'The Hours'), lends real pathos to Justine's husband Phil, making him both annoying and sympathetic at the same time.

But really it is the smaller roles which make this film so memorable: screenwriter Mike White (who also played Chuck in 'Chuck and Buck') captures just the right note of self-righteousness as bible-toting security guard Corny; Tim Blake Nelson is genuinely unhinged as Phil's dim, covetous best friend Bubba; and Zooey Deschanel shines as Justine's rebellious co-worker Cheryl, who gets demoted to cosmetics for getting 'a little creative on the PA', only to end up performing 'cirque du face' on her hapless clients.

This tale of the seven sins, the seven year itch and the temptations of forbidden fruit brims with the absurdities of deadend jobs and smalltown life. Yet for all the humour, the different characters' dissatisfactions and dashed dreams leave a bitter taste that you will savour for some time after.

A comedy that is as dark and delicious as roadside blackberries.

Anton Bitel, 04.02.03