However, the movie managed to change my mind. I must say that after watching "Jersey Girl," Bennifer has almost won me over. "Jersey Girl" is both refreshingly heartwarming and extremely witty despite a muddled performance by the highly overrated ex-couple. This movie struck me as quite paradoxical, especially taking into account Director Kevin Smith's past projects. A New Jersey native himself, Smith has always shunned convention through masterpieces like "Dogma" and "Chasing Amy." However, Smith takes on a completely new mindset with "Jersey Girl," in which he conspicuously embraces family values and all sorts of fluffy, mitten-cuddly emotions. Add to that the fact that the power couple delivers an entirely vapid performance, and a precocious nine-year old (Raquel Castro) alongside an actress whose best role to date has been an elf princess (Liv Tyler) are the only elements that make "Jersey Girl" a worthwhile see. The result? A surreal absurdity. The predicable plot, on the other hand, may be as old as the coffee in a Jersey diner, but once you get past the first half hour or so, the film is able to capitalize on the immense talent of Castro.
New Yorker Ollie Trinke (Affleck) is a selfish but highly successful public relations executive who meets and marries Gertrude "Gertie" Steiney (Lopez). Gertie gets pregnant and then Lopez proceeds to do what she does best: overact. Meanwhile, Ollie is too busy with work to notice. A highly insipid and unmoving scene emerges in which the father-to-be promises to try harder and accept that his life will be different. Thankfully, Gertie dies in childbirth, leaving an incompetent Ollie to pick up the pieces and raise an infant daughter, also strapped with the unfortunate name Gertie. Ollie immediately seeks refuge at work but is soon fired when he proves incapable of handling the added demands of a baby. Ollie then moves back to the Jersey suburbs, where he becomes a wonderful father for the young Gertie (Castro).
The film fast-forwards seven years, allowing for adorable scenes where we see Affleck grapple with the mundane details of childrearing. Ollie receives help from the video store clerk and nymphomaniac, Maya (Tyler), which makes for some hilarious and yet deeply moving scenes. Ollie's taste for the city life constantly resurfaces and the viewer wonders whether or not he will regress into the selfish, ambitious man he once was, or remain the steadfast, loyal father that the Jersey folk have come to depend on.
Although "Jersey Girl" does shed light on real issues and evokes genuine emotion, it has its own problems. The predicament lies in its development; the weepy scenes are cringe-worthy because the lines are so pathetically hackneyed and the acting is absolutely unoriginal. However, the wonderful rapport between Castro and virtually every character she comes across makes for an overall charming piece that almost makes the predictability forgivable.