Jersey Girl (1992)

Jersey Girl (1992). 1h 35m | PG-13

“Hereu0026#39;s the odd thing about this quirky little film — its u0026quot;happy endingu0026quot; completely undercuts the happy ending the heroine is looking for.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eToby (Gertz) is a Jersey Girl looking for a GQ kind of guy — a non-Guido with money, nice clothes and good manners who will take her away from it all. Sal (McDermott) is a Queens Guy whou0026#39;s made it big in Manhattan and is dating Social Register material. Toby wants Sal, Sal wants Society, but in the end Toby and Sal get each other. But what happens in order for this to occur? Sal trashes his well-paying career, is humiliated by his girlfriend, intentionally wrecks the Mercedes that first caught Tobyu0026#39;s eye,and probably wonu0026#39;t long be hanging on to that nice apartment overlooking Central Park. He rejects what it takes to be Manhattan material in order to be with his Jersey Girl — he re-embraces his Queens roots.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo how does this make him different than the Guidos Toby has been fleeing in the first place? Are we supposed to believe that theyu0026#39;re what she really wanted all along, now that sheu0026#39;s ended up with one?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe toughest thing about this for me was the endless cliche about what Jersey Girls are like in the first place. I defy anyone to find a 20-something in, say, Short Hills NJ who would dress, act, talk, think like the stereotypes depicted in the film. Itu0026#39;s a movie about Jersey Girls with a kind of Philip Roth-like self-hatred about being from Jersey. Toby isnu0026#39;t smarter or more stylish than her friends — she just wants someone with money. That is supposed to ennoble her? In the end, she doesnu0026#39;t get the guy with the money anyway — perhaps as fitting punishment for her greediness? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf so, then whou0026#39;s the heroine of this movie, anyway?”