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The disc is due on September 7th, same day as Clerks X, so be sure and order both from the Stash today, to ensure your Kevin-signed copies arrive right away.
Moviehole reports that Kevin stole the show:
After the presentation, Smith told me that “immediately next I’m doing an ultra low budget flick and if I end up not doing Green Hornet, then I’ll finally be directing Fletch.” So it seems that Fletch lives after all. He said poor reviews were more to blame for the failure of his $35m “Jersey Girl” than “the whole Bennifer thing”, and he hopes to work with his pal Affleck again soon, “but never his ex.”
There’s also a bit of press for the film’s release, including an interview with Affleck and some other reviews and tidbits
HERE as well as a review from (you’ll love this)
The Catholic Church of Australia!!! Of course, if you’re IN Australia, we know you’ll see
the flick in the coming days…Be sure to TALK BACK and let us know what ya think!
As I’m sure you all know, the plot consists of Affleck, as Ollie Trinke, attempting to raise his daughter (the amazingly charismatic Raquel Castro) with some help from his father (George Carlin in a pretty endearing performance), after his wife (J.Lo) dies during childbirth in the first 15 minutes. While certain moments fall flat, what really makes the movie work is the relationship between Affleck and Castro. This is actually a believable father-daughter relationship, not simply the kind we usually see in movies. Not only are we shown the unique bond that these two have, but also included is a scene where the two yell incredibly hurtful things at one another, that anyone who has ever had a bitter fight with a parent will recognize. Surprising, even shocking for a Smith film, there were a few moments where myself and several audience members were moved to tears, most notably one of Carlin’s last lines in the movie. All of this leads up to a closing scene that one can only describe as beautiful.
Still, I don’t want to undersell all the funny stuff in this movie, as it is for the most part, a comedy. Well, obviously it is a more family-friendly kind of funny, but it’s still a relatively strong PG-13, with much conversations involving sex and masturbation.
There is a pretty funny subplot involving Ollie’s criticisms of Will Smith that lost him his job, that leads up to a scene that could have been a disaster, but ends up being the best written scene in the movie.
Now, I must say, I hate J. Lo as much as the next guy, but the talk about her opening scenes with Affleck being awful is pure, unadulterated bullshit. This is actually one of the only two movies she didn’t piss me off in (the other being the underrated and forgotten ‘U-Turn’). Her scenes with Affleck come off as genuine and sort of charming in a way.
Liv Tyler plays a video-store clerk who Affleck starts to fall for, and it is hard to remember a more adorable character than Liv plays in this movie. For an actress whose soft-spoken line readings always annoyed me, here she gives a really sweet performance and is downright lovable as the kind of girl we all dream about.
I honestly don’t know why this was pushed till March, while the often painful-to-watch “Cold Mountain” got the big Miramax Oscar push. While this wouldn’t have really had much of a shot for a Best Picture nom, Raquel Castro would’ve been a leading contender for Best Supporting Actress, and possibly even Affleck for Best Actor, in what is definitely the best performance of his career (not saying much for Mr. Reindeer Games I know, but still).
I know many will say this is Smith selling out, but in my opinion, this is really just him maturing as a filmmaker, similar to how I felt “Big Fish” was for Tim Burton.
While it’s not a perfect movie, it’s a bona fide crowd please that doesn’t pander to its audience, is consistently entertaining, and one of the better portrayals of a father-daughter relationship to ever hit the screen.
You can also read the piece over at AICN, and throw your 2 cents in those dreaded talkbacks, of course.
Entertainment Weekly has the story as well, and we’ll also have a scan with Page Six’s take on it later on this evening. ‘Til then…Go vote!
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