Indie Gems: The Good Girl

'The Good Girl' is a subtle film about an unhappy woman named Justine (Jennifer Aniston) working at a discount store in some nowhere town. She hates her life, and her husband, Phil. (John C. Reilly) When a quite, withdrawn young man named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to work with her, she finds herself intrigued and they start an affair. This could be her once chance to change her life for the better, will she take it?

This is the kind of movie I wish Jennifer Aniston would do more often. I'm so sick of her rom-coms. She actually showed a lot of talent in this. I like her dramatic side. I liked the flow of this movie, the majority of the scenes took place in the "Retail Rodeo" where they worked. It made the film look low budget, but in the best possible way. John C. Reilly is a tremendous actor in my opinion because we all know he's hilarious, but he's also capable of being so unlikeable and mean. We get to see that side of him in this film. Jake Gyllenhall does great as a disturbed young adult as well, not quite as extreme as his 'Donnie Darko' character, but he and Aniston have great chemistry. Parts of the film don't really work, like a slightly over the top sub-plot about a co worker dieing from (allegedly) bad blackberries, but it's definitely Aniston's best work to date, and worth watching.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "Look, you got your choice to make, destroy your marriage and break your husband's heart,...or have sex with me right now." - Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson)