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Good Girl Gets Graded by Geise (Buzzsaw gives up on headlines)

By Trevor Geise

Director Miguel Arteta's (Chuck & Buck) latest film is from start to finish exactly what it tries to be, a witty look into modern day American mediocrity and tediousness. The story centers on Justine, a thirty year old employee of the Retail Rodeo, who has become increasingly fed up with her pothead husband (John Reilly) and desperate for a change in her dull and dreary life. Enter Tom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a dark and disturbed loner who has named himself after Holden Caulfield. Being co-workers they run into each other soon enough, and Tom's self-mocking mysteriousness persuades Justine into an adulterous relationship. This turns out to be just what she needs, until things begin to go awry.

Jennifer Aniston plays Justine so well; there are points when I almost forget that she is Jennifer Aniston. This is easily her best role to date and surprising proves that yes, she really can act. A fantastic cast also backs her, with every actor bringing a depth and uniqueness to their character.

So a witty screenplay, terrific acting, was there anything to dislike about this movie? Well like I said, this movie accomplished exactly what it set out to, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. The mediocrity and just plain inability to reason that plagues the character's stays true, but almost to a fault. More than once did I find myself squirming in my seat, aggravated by what was unfolding before me. Yes, this is a good movie, but not always an enjoyable one, and the witty moments will only comfort you for so long, until you are left to face the bleak reality that has been built up in front of you.

Rating: $13. (This is how much I would like to pay the film maker/s. This has ranged from $0 (Corky Romano) to about $25 for something like Magnolia. I use a monetary system to rate these movies because stars are meaningless to me. When I leave a good movie, I have an impulse to give the filmmakers money, if the amount is more than the ticket price, than it is a better than average movie, and I got my monies worth.