Jersey Girl (2004)
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A widowed publicist must navigate the challenges of single fatherhood while grappling with the loss of his wife.
The story
Ollie Trinké, a New York media publicist, loses his wife Gertrude during childbirth and is left to raise their daughter, Gertie. Overwhelmed by grief and the demands of parenting, Ollie's father steps in to help, but eventually forces Ollie to take responsibility. After a public outburst costs Ollie his career, he moves to New Jersey with Gertie, where he takes a civil service job. Seven years later, while working with his father, Ollie begins to rediscover his passion for public relations and considers returning to his former career in New York City.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ollie Trinké, a New York media publicist, marries Gertrude Steiney, but she dies from an aneurysm during childbirth. Ollie names their daughter Gertie. Struggling with grief, Ollie initially neglects Gertie until his father, Bart, intervenes. A public outburst where Ollie insults actor Will Smith leads to Ollie losing his job and moving to New Jersey. Seven years later, Ollie works with Bart and begins dating Maya, a graduate student. While helping with a local public works project, Ollie realizes he misses his old career and arranges an interview in New York. Tension arises when Ollie plans to move back to New York, causing a major fight with Gertie, who accuses him of putting himself first. They eventually reconcile, and Ollie decides to skip his interview to attend Gertie's school talent show. After seeing her perform, Ollie chooses to stay in New Jersey, declaring that being her father is the only thing he has ever been really good at.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kevin Smith
- Writers
- Kevin Smith · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ben Affleck · Ollie Trinké; Liv Tyler · Gertrude Steiney; George Carlin; Stephen Root; Mike Starr; Raquel Castro · Gertie; Jason Biggs; Jennifer Lopez
- Genres
- comedy-drama
- Themes
- Parenting; Grief; Career vs. Family
- Tone and mood
- Sentimental; Conventional
- Premise and plot tags
- Dysfunctional Family; Pregnancy; Romantic Comedy-Drama
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing only $36.1 million against a $35 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · review count: 174; Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Young Artist Award · Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger · Won; Razzie Award · Worst Actor · Nominated; Razzie Award · Worst Supporting Actress · Nominated; Razzie Award · Worst On-Screen Couple · Nominated; Razzie Award · Best Family Feature Film – Comedy or Musical · Nominated
- Production trivia
- It was the first film written and directed by Kevin Smith not set in the View Askewniverse.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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