While not without its flaws, this film does have many favorable points that overshadow those flaws. Its biggest asset is the acting: from the leads on down to the smaller roles, there is not a single performance in the film that comes off as forced or ungenuine. Aniston's quiet desperation is a perfect foil for both Gyllenhaal's intense bipolarism and Reilly's clueless self-satisfaction; Nelson, whose character, Bubba, starts out seeming like a leering, sexist pig, allows the viewer to see Bubba's hidden depths, as a man who has spent his whole life watching his best friend get all of the things he's always wanted for himself--and quietly resents him for it; Zooey Deschanel provides the laughs as Cheryl, a fellow Retail Rodeo clerk who alleviates her boredom and dissatisfaction by tormenting her customers and boss with her sarcastic wit; and as the doomed Gwen, whose death provides the movie with one of its most pivotal moments, Deborah Rush exudes a cheeriness and optimism that endears her to the viewer, even as it gets on the nerves of the other characters in the film. Only film writer Mike White, who appears as security guard / Nazarene bible study leader Corny, hits a few wrong notes, playing his character as a stereotypical annoying bible-thumper who believes that even the biggest disasters are God's will and should be celebrated. One gets the feeling that he is trying to parody the stereotype, but if so, he falls well short of the goal. The smugness and self-righteousness of the character is enough to make the viewer cheer when he receives his rough (if somewhat undeserved) comeuppance in the end. In terms of writing and direction, the film is average. Usually, really good films do one of two things: they either provide the viewer with an entertaining escape from the cares of their everyday lives, or they offer wisdom or some new observation about life. This film does neither. It is unrelenting in its depressive feel; even the glimmers of humor sprinkled throughout are derived from the characters' depression and loneliness. While it is good at conveying the story of one woman's attempt at breaking through the barriers of her life, it presents her, in the end, with a choice that is just as confining as the life she wants to escape: she can either doom her character to a non-existence as mother and wife and retail clerk, or she can doom her character to a non-existence as mother and lover and fugitive from the law. Either way, she no longer retains her status as "The Good Girl", because if she does stay, the news of her affair with her co-worker will haunt her forever; indeed, you get the feeling, in the end, that the only person in whose eyes she'll be elevated is the sarcastic Cheryl. The futility of life has been presented in other films before; the difference being, in this film, the viewer has actually been led to care deeply for this character, and wants to see her end up with something more. The fact that she doesn't--that she CAN'T--makes the viewer feel more than a little cheated. Despite this flaw, however, the script is heartfelt, and the characters (with the above-noted exception of Corny) so real that you feel like you know them intimately. Arteta's direction and pacing never lets the story slow down or become mired in its own quagmire of self-importance. Perhaps, if this film hadn't been touted as a comedy, then it wouldn't have been such a letdown to watch it and see it for what it really is: a well-acted romantic drama about people headed for their own personal dead ends.
Review of The Good Girl
