Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Tim Blake Nelson, Zooey Deschanel

Director: Miguel Arteta

Summary: The story of Justine, a bored housewife who meets and falls for a work colleague Tom who has a fascination with 'The Catcher In The Rye'.

THE GOOD GIRL, directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Mike White, stars Jennifer Aniston as Justine, a sullen 30-year-old woman stuck in a dead-end job at the Retail Rodeo department store. In addition to her mind-numbing occupation, Justine also has to contend with her dim-witted husband Phil (John C. Reilly) and his friend Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson), who work as house painters when they aren't smoking pot and staring blankly at the television screen. Justine sees an opportunity for change when she meets Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), a fellow Retail Rodeo employee who is even more depressed than herself. The young Holden (who patterns himself after Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE) and Justine soon begin a passionate secret affair, unaware that it may not be so secret after all.
With THE GOOD GIRL, Arteta and White, the creators of the indie hit CHUCK & BUCK, have fashioned yet another oddly affecting comedy out of misery and obsession. Playing the polar opposite of the character she plays on the TV show FRIENDS, Aniston is outstanding as Justine, a melancholy wife torn between the temptation of an affair and loyalty to her husband. Gyllenhaal is excellent as Justine's angst-ridden younger beau, while Reilly plays her slacker spouse to perfection. Also notable in their supporting roles are Nelson, who portrays a scheming stoner; screenwriter White, who appears as Retail Rodeo's pious security guard; and Zooey Deschanel, who gleefully dispenses sarcasm as a customer-hating clerk. A delicate balance of dark humor and sincere emotion, THE GOOD GIRL stands out as an overachieving film about underachieving people.

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In The Good GirlJennifer Aniston gets a make-under that would make her Friendscharacter weep, but she finally proves her acting mettle away from the ditzy-but-glamorous Rachel type. A low-key drama from the writer and director duo behind Chuck and Buck, The Good Girlplaces Aniston's bored shop-girl Justine at the centre of a soul-destroying life in a sleepy Texan town. Like a modern Madame Bovary, Justine's life is stuck in a rut--her marriage is dull and her job at the Retail Rodeo even duller--when a new colleague Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) offers her an escape. A tortured soul who's obsessed with The Catcher in the Ryeand thinks nobody understands him, Holden is a typical, angst-ridden young man. But to Justine he's intriguing and romantic and their shared sense of dejection soon leads to an affair and a short-lived liberation from their daily lives.

Aniston could never pass as dowdy but she does a very convincing turn as the crestfallen Justine, using subtlety and dry humour rather than melodrama to convey her quiet desperation. John C Reilly as her permanently stoned husband and Tim Blake Nelson as his creepy chum are both superb alongside her. Even the smaller roles are furnished with some memorable moments: Justine's colleague makes outrageous tannoy announcements to zombie-like customers at the Retail Rodeo. Funny, strange and touching by turns The Good Girl, has its awkward moments but as a quirky slice of life it gets most things right.

On the DVD:The Good Girloffers a feature-length commentary from director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White that takes a while to get going but does provide some insight and humour. Aniston adds a scene-specific commentary that sadly does little to enhance the viewing of the film; short comments, some with massive pauses, offer little in the way of insight into her breakout performance. Deleted scenes with optional commentary and an alternate ending add a little more bulk where the gag reel (out-takes of the cast laughing) fails. It's not the package the film deserves. --Laura Bushell

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary By Director Miguel Arteta And Writer Actor Mike White, Scene Specific Audio Commentary By Jennifer Aniston, Alternative Ending Montage, Outtakes Reel, 9 Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary
Year:	2002
Release Date:	May 12, 2003
Runtime:	89 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	23840 D V D
Keywords:	Girl, Comedy, General, Wide, Screen, Good, Romantic
Genre:	Comedy