The Good Girl on DVD

Of the six Friends on TV, Jennifer Aniston is probably managing the most successful movie career to date. Even if the movies aren’t always successful, she seems to be getting the best roles.

Her latest is The Good Girl, a comedy/drama co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly.

Aniston plays Justine, a southern girl living an unfortunate existence as a “Retail Rodeo” cosmetics girl, and wife to a lazy, weed-smoking slob. She hates every aspect of her life, until she meets Holden (Gyllenhaal), an attractive but unsociable co-worker.

The two begin an affair that leaves Justine questioning herself and her life. Holden is happy for the first time he can remember, but he doesn’t realize how hard it is for Justine. All he seems to care about is the “good stuff,” whether he actually cares about Justine or not.

Just when Justine’s life seems to be getting better, things start to go downhill again as she tries to cover up her affair from her husband and friends. But if she really loves Holden, can she stop seeing him to save the only life she’s used to?

The Good Girl is a decent enough movie, with a good mix of humor and drama. Aniston does a very good job holding up the film, and the supporting cast mostly does a good job as well.

The main problem with the movie lies in the fact that Justine is a likeable character that does not perform a single likeable act. It’s hard to root for a character like that. The other problem is that we liked where the movie was going, but we didn’t like where it went. It was building up to the kind of ending we’d love to see, but seemed to take the easy way out; the way that would appeal to the critics.

If you like many of the other indie films coming out these days, you’ll probably enjoy The Good Girl. It isn't great; if it were, it would have to be called The Great Girl.

The film performed relatively well for an indie movie, and because of this (or possibly not), Fox has provided a pretty good DVD. It’s presented in both widescreen and full screen versions (on the same disc; the way it should be), and the picture is not bad. It doesn’t compare to what we’re quickly getting used to with many DVD's however. There isn't really anything wrong with it, but there isn't really anything that makes us appreciate it especially. Just an average, good quality DVD.

The audio, although presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital, sounds mostly like a stereo track with a bit of center speaker thrown in. As is common with this type of movie, there isn't much here other than the dialogue, so surrounds are not really necessary.

Extras include an audio commentary by director Miguel Arteta and writer/actor Mike White, scene-specific commentary by Jennifer Aniston, deleted scenes with optional commentary, a gag reel and an alternate ending montage.

The Good Girl, from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
94 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16X9 enhanced, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly and Mike White
Produced by Matthew Greenfield
Written by Mike White
Directed by Miguel Arteta

Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think