I'm not sure I've ever written a review on here, but when I saw the one existing review for Jersey Guy I felt obligated to give curious parties a more accurate picture of this film. I was at a truck stop in Commerce City, CO yesterday killing time, and the "3 for $10" movie section caught my eye, being a fan of terrible, mind-numbing horror and sci-fi. Being a recently transplanted Jersey girl and fan of working with old people, picking this one up in addition to Poor Pretty Eddie and Cybertracker 2 was a no-brainer.
Okay: if you are from NJ, especially North Jersey, you will get a few chuckles out of this. Most of it takes place in the Wayne area and you will get a glimpse of places like the Princess Diner and Willowbrook Mall (where I wasted hours upon hours of my adolescence)... but that's about where the amusement ends for me.
Clearly the makers of this film were very proud to be from NJ, which is fine, but if I heard the main character (Jack) refer to himself as a "Jersey guy" one more time, I was going to flip. That's the title of the movie; why do you need to keep reminding us? It is also full of stereotypes and assumptions about what it's like to be a "Jersey guy" and NYC that to me were never true, such as Jack thinking going into the city was a big deal (he at one point asks if you need a passport to get in- wtf?). He's supposed to be a 25-year-old resident of Passaic County, and a 30-40 minute drive into NYC is some huge experience for him? Maybe if he were from Vineland, but Wayne?? Also, a lot of the Jersey references, like to the shore, were just really stretching it. The director clearly wanted to throw that stuff in there to impress/amuse Jersey folks, but I just sat there wondering why the hell he brought up pizza on the Seaside boardwalk when it was pretty damn irrelevant to whatever was going on.
My own Jersey issues aside, the movie just wasn't that entertaining or well-made. The dialogue is pretty terrible and the acting almost as bad. I was bored and often cringing. Don't get me wrong, it does have some redeeming moments. The story line would actually be very interesting to me if done right; I can relate to Jack's fear of settling down into a "normal" life with his longtime girlfriend, etc. Unfortunately I found myself not really giving a crap about this character (who is the only one developed at all deeply, and even that's a stretch) or any of them. There are some interesting moments between Jack and his father (probably the best actor here) that I enjoyed, as well as some fun nursing home scenes, but that's about it.
My friend, who is from Wisconsin, was dozing off next to me. She left about halfway through due to extenuating circumstances and had no interest in finishing the movie.
Moral of the story: If you're not from NJ, you probably have no reason to see this. If you are from NJ, you may be both amused and annoyed, but will probably not feel fulfilled in any way by it.
Message to the director: We know you're from Jersey and proud, but there are much better ways to go about showing this (see most of Kevin Smith's filmography). I think your heart was in the right place, but if you do decide to make any more films I would suggest focusing more on important details like the script and actors. No hard feelings (insert fist pump here).
Okay: if you are from NJ, especially North Jersey, you will get a few chuckles out of this. Most of it takes place in the Wayne area and you will get a glimpse of places like the Princess Diner and Willowbrook Mall (where I wasted hours upon hours of my adolescence)... but that's about where the amusement ends for me.
Clearly the makers of this film were very proud to be from NJ, which is fine, but if I heard the main character (Jack) refer to himself as a "Jersey guy" one more time, I was going to flip. That's the title of the movie; why do you need to keep reminding us? It is also full of stereotypes and assumptions about what it's like to be a "Jersey guy" and NYC that to me were never true, such as Jack thinking going into the city was a big deal (he at one point asks if you need a passport to get in- wtf?). He's supposed to be a 25-year-old resident of Passaic County, and a 30-40 minute drive into NYC is some huge experience for him? Maybe if he were from Vineland, but Wayne?? Also, a lot of the Jersey references, like to the shore, were just really stretching it. The director clearly wanted to throw that stuff in there to impress/amuse Jersey folks, but I just sat there wondering why the hell he brought up pizza on the Seaside boardwalk when it was pretty damn irrelevant to whatever was going on.
My own Jersey issues aside, the movie just wasn't that entertaining or well-made. The dialogue is pretty terrible and the acting almost as bad. I was bored and often cringing. Don't get me wrong, it does have some redeeming moments. The story line would actually be very interesting to me if done right; I can relate to Jack's fear of settling down into a "normal" life with his longtime girlfriend, etc. Unfortunately I found myself not really giving a crap about this character (who is the only one developed at all deeply, and even that's a stretch) or any of them. There are some interesting moments between Jack and his father (probably the best actor here) that I enjoyed, as well as some fun nursing home scenes, but that's about it.
My friend, who is from Wisconsin, was dozing off next to me. She left about halfway through due to extenuating circumstances and had no interest in finishing the movie.
Moral of the story: If you're not from NJ, you probably have no reason to see this. If you are from NJ, you may be both amused and annoyed, but will probably not feel fulfilled in any way by it.
Message to the director: We know you're from Jersey and proud, but there are much better ways to go about showing this (see most of Kevin Smith's filmography). I think your heart was in the right place, but if you do decide to make any more films I would suggest focusing more on important details like the script and actors. No hard feelings (insert fist pump here).
