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BY TOM MEEK
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Kevin Smith, the irreverent director who unleashed the obscenity-laced 1994 cult comedy Clerks and the quirky 1997 bi-girl romp Chasing Amy, drifts into maudlin tearjerker territory here. But the news isn’t disastrous, not in the least. Both Smith and actor Ben Affleck get their groove back with this affecting tale of a struggling single father torn between stalled career aspirations and parental responsibility. Affleck’s Ollie Trinke is a hot-shot New York PR agent on the way up until his wife (Jennifer Lopez) dies during childbirth. Under duress and in a moment of frustration, Ollie commits career suicide, trashing his client (Will Smith during his Fresh Prince days) and lambasting a sea of eager journalists. Fast-forward seven years: Ollie’s living back home with this father (George Carlin) in working-class Jersey and driving a street sweeper, and his daughter, Gertie (a delightful Raquel Castro), is now a precocious bundle of zip. Nothing much happens — Gertie wants to stage a grisly scene from Sweeney Todd for the school talent show, Ollie gets busted renting porn videos by a comely grad student (Liv Tyler) studying sex and the single parent, and there’s the lingering call of the big city — but the script, smartly peppered by a more mature Smith, has an engaging blend of tenderness and cynicism. The supporting cast, which includes Jason Biggs, goes a long way to shore up the film, and the cameos by Will Smith, Jason Lee, and Matt Damon are not to be missed. (102 minutes)
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