Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl: The Story of an Average Girl

Very often in our lives we may feel as if our lives are going nowhere. Some of us may switch careers, move to a new town, or make new friends; in some cases, one might even have an affair. This is precisely the dilemma that Justine, played by Jennifer Aniston, faces in the movie "The Good Girl". Justine is an average girl, in an average town, with an average job, until she meets Holden, an eccentric, emotionally disturbed boy. Their attraction to each other occurs for many reasons outlined in the study of interpersonal communication. In addition, the progression of their relationship follows a distinct pattern that closely follows the Developmental Model of Interpersonal Relationships.

The book Interplay outlines seven reasons why we begin relationships; appearance, similarity, complementarily, rewards, competency, proximity, and disclosure (Adler et al. 249-256). First, appearance played a large role in Justine's attraction to Holden. He was eight years younger than she. In addition, he was physically much different than her husband; he was muscular and fit, while her husband was out of shape. Next, Justine and Holden found that they were similar in many ways. Both hated their job and living in that town. However, they also found complementarily traits. For example, Justine explained that she had never gone to college, while Holden had. Holden had career aspirations to be a writer; Justine had no career aspirations.

Fourth, both found rewards in the relationship. Justine saw the relationship as a way to break up the monotony of everyday life and for once do something "bad". Holden found that Justine could provide him with the emotional support and understanding that he needed. Moreover, Justine and Holden's need for competency was met. Holden's parents did not provide him with the level of communication he needed, while Justine's husband is consistently "stoned" when she needed to talk. Also, proximity played a role because both worked at the Retail Rodeo together. Finally, Justine and Holden's relationship was based on disclosure. Several times throughout the movie we can see disclosure which strengthens their relationship, whether it is through Holden's stories or expressions of dissatisfaction with life.

The progression of Justine and Holden's relationship can also be outlined by the book Interplay. Specifically, the Developmental Model of Interpersonal Relationships accurately describes the relationship in stages; initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, bonding, differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and terminating (Adler et al. 257-262). Initiating involves showing interest and taking initiative to meet the other person (Adler et al. 257). In the film, Justine approaches Holden and asks him what he his reading. He responds that he is reading Catcher in the Rye for which he is named. This leads to an exchange between the two which allows their relationship to proceed.

Second is the stage called experimenting. This stage consists of looking for things that people have in common (Adler et al. 258). In this stage, Holden tells Justine that he hates his job. She feels the same. Then Justine says, "When I looked at you I could tell you hated the world too." Here they have found common ground in the fact that they both are dissatisfied with their lives.

Next comes intensifying. During this stage two people start to articulate that they are in fact attracted to each other (Adler et al. 259). In the movie this takes many forms. The first thing Justine does to express interest is offers Holden a ride home. When they get to Holden's house, he takes intensifying one step further by inviting Justine in. Justine then expresses that a real feeling of attraction by saying, "I liked the way you kept yourself." Over the next days the two continue intensifying by exchanging smiles. Eventually, Holden makes sexual advances towards Justine, a definite sign of attraction.

Then Justine and Holden experience the fourth stage of relationship development; integrating. This stage includes establishing "an identity as a social unit" (Adler et al. 259). The two go through this stage when they start being identified as friends. They are seen eating lunch together and talking at work. In addition, they get a room together at a local hotel. Because of the secrecy that must surround their relationship, the growth of that relationship starts to be stunted here.

The sixth stage of relationship development is bonding. This stage is characterized by "symbolic public gestures" (Adler et al. 260). This stage can be seen but not in the public sphere. For example, Holden plays "footsies" with Justine at lunch. Justine is scared that someone will see but to express her love for Holden reciprocates with a quick kiss. Holden also gives Justine his stories to read which are very private to him.

Additionally, the stage called differentiation occurs in Justine and Holden's relationship. Differentiation consists of gaining one's individuality again (Adler et al. 261). This occurs in Justine and Holden's relationship when Justine begins to fear getting caught. She begins to experience this trust when she spots Bubba's work truck outside the hotel where Holden and she had sex. This causes her to pull away and reevaluate her fidelity to her husband. These feelings are only intensified when Justine's friend Gwen dies and Phil is there to comfort her.

The next stage is circumscribing. This stage is the one in which dissatisfaction with the relationship is expressed (Adler et al. 261). Justine informs Holden that she has doubts about whether the relationship will work. We also see her trying to reconnect with her husband when they go to Bible study, showing that she must hold on to Phil because the relationship with Holden is crumbling.

The ninth stage is stagnation. In this stage the relationship stops progressing (Adler et al. 261-2). The beginnings of this stage can be seen when Justine starts to have less and less contact with Holden. For instance, she goes home more nights and stays and works in stead of going into the back room with Holden.

Next in relationship development is avoiding. This stage occurs when one or both partners attempt to distance themselves from the other (Adler et al. 262). This is seen in the film when Justine refuses to drive Holden home. More blatantly, Justine runs out of the Retail Rodeo while Holden is being yelled at by the manager.

Then final stage of relationships is termination. This is when one or both partners express interest in ending the relationship (Adler et al. 262). We can see that Justine makes many attempts to end the relationship. First she tells Holden, "We are not friends." Then she throws him out of her car when he is drunk after seeing her have sex with Bubba. Next she talks to Holden's parents to explain his irrational behavior. Finally, Justine ends the relationship by telling the police where he will be after stealing $15,000 from the Retail Rodeo.

This film gave a good example of the relationship model in action. It also showed the reasons for attraction very well. In addition, it gives a good example of what an unhealthy relationship looks like in two different lights. We first see that a relationship can be unhealthy when it lacks communication, as in Phil and Justine's relationship. Then we can also see that a relationship can be detrimental if one partner depends on the other too much, in Justine and Holden's relationship. Watching this film may provide a valuable lesson to those thinking about an extramarital affair.