UPDATE 12/15: See deleted scene from Life of Crime where Aniston's character tries grass for the first time.
|
Leonard told the LA Times in 2012, "Years ago, a reviewer for the Detroit News said my female characters were like [Mickey] Spillane’s. After that, I paid more attention. I don’t think of them as women. I think of them as a person and go from there. Sometimes female characters start out as the wife or girlfriend, but then I realize, 'No, she’s the book,' and she becomes a main character."
Jen pulls off what could be a stereotypical role with pluck and heart, aided by supporting cast starting with her heinous husband (Tim Robbins) and his scheming girlfriend (Isla Fisher, who played Mary Jane in the Scooby Doo movie and Myrtle in The Great Gatsby). Also in the film are SNL's Will Forte, Mark Boone Junior from Sons of Anarchy, rapper Mos Def (aka yaslin bey), and John Hawkes as the crook with a heart.
I particularly like the scenes where Aniston's character Mickey gives the Peeping Tom Nazi who has her imprisoned what he deserves, and where she has a little fun laughing at the classic Sanford and Son scene involving marijuana. In the film, as so often in life, smoking a little weed leads to a woman looking at the world in a different, better way. Nicely, subtly done.
