The saddest thing...

...about this movie is that people were not only duped into paying to see it, but that they've convinced themselves that this is a well-made film.

First of all, things are interesting when they are a)wholly original, b) exceptionally executed, or c) a combination of a and b. The Good Girl doesn't qualify on any of these accounts.

This was nothing more than a lame combination of American Beauty and an episode of Roseanne with a little (too much) Catcher in the Rye thrown in to, I assume, lend things a bit of literary cachet.

Why did the filmmakers choose to, if I may be allowed such a phrase, puss out, at some of the loaded moments showing the most potential for true drama? For example, when Aniston and Reilly go to church and she backs out because she sees someone she doesn't want to see. Why not take them into the church, stoned husband and all, then let her see him? Why set us up with the "poisoned" blackberries, the not give us a payoff.

Most importantly, why does the main character get essentially rewarded for, let's see, cheating on her husband with a younger man, fucking her husband's best friend, lying about her pregnancy, being a lousy friend, and finally attempting to kill, then succeeding (in a roundabout way) in killing her young lover, because she's over it? Why are we supposed to care about her? Because she's pretty? Please.

The filmmakers came up short in almost every regard. How is it that everyone is so similar in dress, demeanor and accent, and the lovely Ms. Aniston stands out like a supermodel at an Amish Thanksgiving? And if the answer is "because she's so different from them," then why would she stay?

Internal logic. Look it up.

Maybe I need to re-read "Catcher in the Rye." Maybe I am too old to find IT anything but self-indulgent as well. As stated in my review, I certainly found Igby Goes Down, which is clearly a derivative of "Catcher," to be mediocre at best. I had a similar reaction to The Good Girl.

Perhaps it was Aniston. No matter what the Emmy voters tell you, she is not a talented actress. She is perpectually playing Jennifer Aniston, now wife of Brad Pitt. In this film, she played jennifer Aniston with a bad accent.

Maybe another actress would have been able to show me why she was married to this stoner. But, having come from a Central California remarkably like the setting of the film, I know very well that a girl like her married the football allstar, or left town to meet their destinies. So, the central relationship, and central source of conflict, are unrealistic.

People mock soap operas, yet this is all The Good Girl is. It is a two hour, condensed version of what Jen's dad does. In fact, Jen is practically playing Sami Brady. She is the heavy, not by circumstances beyond her control, but by her own choice. And yet, the people around her are heavies too. In this day and age, there is no reason to accept such a low fate...

A better title is one used in song: Stupid Girl. The movie would be no better, but perhaps a bit more honest. And a viewer like myself would be warned that, once inside the theater, there is not likely anything redeeming to come.

The Good Girl (2002) - ** (out of 4)
I'm sure this movie was made for someone, but it definitely wasn't me. I think the biggest problem is that I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't particularly care what happened to anyone. Once a movie reaches that point, it has failed. I know there are some very stupid people out there, but it's so hard to believe someone could be as dumb as Jennifer Aniston's character in this movie. I can be entertained for a few minutes when I see these people on Cops, but not for a full length movie...I guess I just don't care about them. It's probably not as bad as I'm making it sound, but there just wasn't anything substantial there. You can't help but laugh at them occasionally, but that's about all this movie offered me.