12A, 102 mins
THE THEORY was that the public backlash against the publicity monster that was “Bennifer” was responsible for the lack of success of Jersey Girl on its US release. But the truth is that Kevin Smith’s saccharine weepy about family values was more than capable of digging its own grave, without the assistance of the former most overexposed couple in Hollywood.
The fact that Ben Affleck, in the lead role of Ollie Trinke, is required to emote should have been a warning sign to all involved with this project. Ollie is a hotshot New York PR, married to a hotshot literary editor (Lopez) whose life suddenly collapses when his wife dies during the birth of their daughter. (To demonstrate grief, Affleck’s face crumples like a damp tissue and he waves his fists around.) The kid grows up to be an adorable moppet (Raquel Castro) but Dad’s fall from grace is spectacular — from overpaid spin-doctor to New Jersey sanitation worker in one swift move. Of course, he still dreams of returning to PR, but this being one of those excruciatingly sanctimonious films about the joy of parenthood, he has a Damascene moment and realises that a lifetime of shovelling other people’s muck is worth it just to put a smile on a seven-year-old’s face. All the sick bags on all the transatlantic flights just haven’t been enough.