![]() ![]() While Dogma and Chasing Amy were significantly better films than the rest, they all followed a fairly familiar formula of putting the “dick and fart” jokes upfront and then weaving a narrative around them. Prior to Jersey Girl, you had Clerks in 1994, Mallrats in 1995, Chasing Amy in 1997, Dogma in 1999, and the exceptionally campy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001. With that came a certain understanding of the type of film the audience was expecting. The other core problem the movie had was the fact that it was Kevin Smith’s film. Long story short… Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were not a couple anyone wanted to see at the time. I remember missing it at the traditional theaters and ultimately having to catch it at one of the budget second-run theaters that were popular at the time. This is one of the films that was quietly released without much fanfare, and if my memory is correct was only actually in theaters locally for a few weeks. Being a follower of Kevin Smith, I knew about the film and was anxiously awaiting it… but I remember it was actually rather hard to get ahold of at the time of release. I think people just got sick of it, and what was a net positive in 2001 when planning and production likely began for Jersey Girl, was a toxic asset in 2004 when the movie was finally released. I am not exactly the type of person that consumes media focused on celebrity gossip, but even then it was impossible to escape people talking about “Bennifer”. I think however more than anything the public just did not care to see Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in anything. ![]() Jersey Girl went through a few changes, namely the role of Jennifer Lopez was diminished in the advertising and it was pushed back to 2004 hoping that it would offer enough time for the bad press of Gigli to die down. However, that changed rapidly after the release of the studio flop Gigli with an estimated budget of $54 million and a Gross Worldwide return of just over $7 million. That means that more than likely it started pre-production work in 2001 and filmed in 2002… and this was an era when the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez celebrity coupling referred to as a “Bennifer” was a hot property. ![]() Jersey Girl was originally targetted to a 2003 release date, which was ultimately pushed back to 2004 for reasons I will discuss shortly. One of the problems with bringing a film to market is that they have a very long lead time. Jersey Girl to me is the pinnacle of that maturation allowing the tackling of a serious film while still interjecting enough of that irreverent flavor to make it easy to consume. I think I matured with him as I followed his films through a sequence of Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy… each time I feel improving on what made a Kevin Smith film. I like many watched Clerks when I was a teenager and became a fan of his particular style of irreverent “dick and fart” humor. However, I am here today to tell you that this is quite possibly my favorite Kevin Smith film. You are forced to purchase it through Google or Apple or go through the nonsense that is adding Cinemax to your Hulu or Amazon subscription in order to access it. ![]() This will not be an easy undertaking, especially given that it is actually hard to find on streaming services. Jersey Girl is effectively the Kevin Smith film that no one remembers, but I am here today to make a case for you giving it the time of day. Sometimes you create a series to give you options for when you are feeling like following that format and that is very much the case with this series. I am also not nearly as faithful about doing one of these every Friday as I am with the Mixtape Mondays series, but ultimately that was the intent. Up until this point I have largely been talking about items in video games, but this morning we are going to diverge a bit from that format. Some weeks back I had this idea for a new series on the blog where I share some item that is particularly special to me. Good Morning Friends! I hope you are having a most excellent Friday. ![]()
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