Jennifer Aniston does a surprisingly good job at portraying Justine, the fed-up Retail Rodeo employee who begins an elicit affair with Holden, a co-worker 8 years her junior. I find it funny that one of the reviewers thought of this movie as a "comedy". The dialogue is humorous at times, but I think this story has a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Justine sees her life as a prison, as does Holden. He swings open the door of curiosity in her life that makes her wonder if there's more for her in the world. Yet, the "good girl" mentality she holds throughout the movie obligates her to deny her feelings for Holden and stick with her pot-smoking, impotent husband.
As you watch, you at first root for Holden and Justine. You want them to escape their small town and find out what life holds for them. Then you start feeling like that isn't right either; Holden is, after all, only 22...and a depressed, rather mentally disturbed 22 at that. Justine sees in him a possibility, but still a bleak possibility.
This leads to a battle of motivations: do you stick with the life you are familiar with and is socially acceptable, even if you're depressed out of your mind, or do you escape into a life more exciting that could very well be as bad or even worse? This is what makes me not know what to think. Justine obviously has personal issues she needs to work out, but she sees her answers in other people and not in herself. This makes her a sympathetic character, but you hate her all at the same time.
The story is very well-conceived, and the actors do a marvelous job portraying Justine's equally-dysfunctional co-workers, family, and friends.
The deleted scenes on the DVD are funny, and some would have been helpful to explain some of the progression in the story. However, the movie is mysteriously captivating on its own, and I think Aniston should be recognized for this gross departure from her flaky counterpart on "Friends".
