The Good Girl review

You think your life's boring? Get a load of Justine's (Jennifer Aniston). By day she's a clerk at Retail Rodeo, a lifeless discount store in a small Texas town. By night she's the wife of Phil (John C Reilly), a dull house painter who's forever smoking weed with best buddy Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson). It's little wonder that new stock boy Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes her fancy, and soon they're doing a little rodeo action of their own. In a small town though, it's only a matter of time before the secret's out...

It's amazing what looking miserable and sporting a Texan accent can do for a gal. But while The Good Girl is garnering headlines for showcasing Aniston's acting range, it's more interesting when viewed as a follow-up to 2000's Chuck&Buck. Like that resonant, unnerving stalker-comedy, this is written by Mike White, directed by Miguel Arteta, and revolves around lonely people looking to connect.

But whereas Chuck&Buck won our sympathy against the odds, The Good Girl grasps for our hearts and closes on air. For one thing, the movie is as dull as its characters' lives. But the real problem is Gyllenhaal, who comes across as a self-pitying little shit rather than a genuine screw-up.