Deacon

I rented 'The Good Girl' on DVD last night. I was impressed, I thought it was really good. I like Mike White's sense of humor (the screenwriter, also played the security guard Corny - he also wrote and starred in Chuck & Buck and also wrote 'Orange County'.) Jennifer Aniston does a good job of holding your interest throughout the film which is crucial given that she's in virtually every scene. But not to be missed is the comedic performance by Zooey Deschanel who plays Cheryl. Everyone in the film has their own way of dealing with what would otherwise be a miserable existence (much like Fight Club, but with less punching). Corny has a bible study group, Justine (Jennifer Aniston) sleeps with the new check out boy. Cheryl see just how much she can float under the radar and ends up stealing almost every scene she's in:

Cheryl giving a make-over:
Cheryl: Sit right down here, ma'am. We're going to make you pretty. Now how do you like your hair?
Big Haired Woman: What? Are you going to do my hair?
Cheryl: No, I just need to know if that's your usual way of wearing it, all big and high. If it is, I'll just put more makeup on your chin to offset it. You're going to want to take a whole bottle of this home with you. It's got quite a lot of ingredients in it, so you're getting a good deal. It's got ginkgo extract in it. Do you know what that is?
Big Haired Woman: No.
Cheryl: It's extract of the ginkgo, and it makes your skin real slick so that any liquid will roll right off you, be it water, or lemon juice, or urine. I'll put it in a bag for you.

and also...
Old Woman: I look too white, don't you think?
Cheryl: Not at all. I'm just trying to match your face with your hair. I was thinking you're not white enough.
Old Woman: I think I look kind of weird.
Cheryl: The first rule of fashion is you have to look weird. What I'm doing has come straight here from France.
Old Woman: Oh?
Cheryl: It's called Cirque du Face, meaning "Circus of the Face", and it's all the rage with the Frenchies, ma'am.
Old Woman: Well, you're the professional.

Cheryl over the store intercom:
Cheryl: Happy Halloween, Retail Rodeo shoppers. There's a Retail Rodeo special on all bulk candy on aisle 4. Ghouls and goblins, witches and warlocks, wandering these aisles day after day, I put a Halloween curse on your hellish heads.

Cheryl: Attention, shoppers. There's a Retail Rodeo special on aisle 3. Liquid Drain Cleaner, 2 12-ounce cans for $5.00. Liquid Drain Cleaner has churning power and it will churn right through your pipes. Ladies, you need female plumbing. Shove something clean and new up your filthy pipes. That's Liquid Drain Cleaner on aisle 3. Have a good day and thank you for shopping at Retail Rodeo.

Cheryl at the checkout:
Cheryl: You didn't bring this into the store with you?
Heavy Set Woman: No.
Cheryl: Then I'll go ahead and charge you for it. This is a hand lotion, so don't put it on any other part of your body, even if that part needs lubrication. We try to keep frivolous lawsuits to a minimum, unless, of course, the customer is at fault.

Monkeybot

I hate to say it but I was not that impressed with GG. I did gain a lot of respect for Jennifer Aniston - she had a lot of screen presence and pulled off the character quite well. Jake Gyllenhaal was also pretty good, for what he had to do anyway.

At the same time I didn't think the rest of the movie was as cogent as it should've been, nor was the dark humour as sharp as I'd hoped. I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong, but it just didn't make the incisive point about small towns and/or giant retail stores and/or normal life vs. fantasy that it seemed to be trying for.

I know the comparison isn't totally valid, but in my opinion Heathers was a much more incisive and funny black comedy. The Good Girl, while certainly not bad, also wasn't quite as good as it could have been.

Deacon

I wouldn't characterize it as black comedy...

Arvel Joffi

I think it was a simple story about looking for love. No big statements to be made; it was just sweet. I was a former Aniston hater, now I am reformed. (I hate all things "Friends.")