Review of The Good Girl (2002) by Kyle K — 21 Mar 2010

It's a shame the unfussy and softly desolating little dramedy that is The Good Girl ultimately flattens during act three. Otherwise, we would have a rare, sensible example of a small-scale humane tragedy that doesn't succomb to judgmental screenwriting or smug laughs.

Relatively unknown director Miguel Arteta keeps it all together long enough for the characters to resonate, and is helped immensely by a cast of wonderful players-- Aniston in particular, worn down but still fighting for her last glimmer of hope, has never been better than she is here.

But alas, past the first hour, the narrative inflates itself with a weird sense of self-importance and from here, The Good Girl drifts towards the banality (gun stories, illegitimate children, all that jazz) that it had oh-so-tastefully avoided before.

Still worth seeing, but could have been a lot better.