By RINDY METCALF

Staff Writer

In Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl," Ben Affleck turns in a performance as a big shot music industry publicist turned street sweeper in the sweet romantic comedy gone sour.

Ollie Trinke, played by Affleck, is forced to raise his infant daughter alone when his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez), dies in childbirth.

Ollie then loses his big-time job when his frustration explodes and he dismisses the rising movie and music mogul Will Smith as a here-today, gone-tomorrow child star in front of a crowd of journalists and music executives.

How's that for a first 20 minutes?

Fast forward seven years later.

It is a quiet small-town life for the now family-minded Ollie and his 7-year-old daughter, Gertie, played by the oh-so-adorable Raquel Castro.

Then everything comes to screeching halt when Ollie gets the chance to return to the big city.

This movie is a horse of a different color for Kevin Smith. "Clerks," "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" fans may feel trampled by Smith's quasi-biographical interpretation of the life of a reluctant father.

This tale is the polar opposite of Smith's usual parodies that ordinarily involve a fixation on drugs or human waste.

Viewers do get a little taste of these other movies with brief cameos from Matt Damon and Jason Lee when they team up to bow down to "The" Ollie Trinke.

On the whole, the characters are well-developed and believable, especially Liv Tyler in a role as a merciful grad student/video store clerk who seeks Affleck's character as subject for a research paper and, later, a love interest.

Castro gives this otherwise unbelievable storyline the refreshing frankness that seems rehearsed and overdone in most of today's child stars.

Brief moments of humor and sweetness are overshadowed by Ollie's long-standing resentment toward his daughter for his wife's death.

Affleck exudes his usual arrogance and insincerity, but it proves too harsh and serious to make his character likeable in this otherwise fluffy film. As the main character, he makes the audience wince as he neglects his fatherly duties and treats the other characters coldly.

If you are looking for a movie with a cutesy love scene or a romantic walk in the dark, you'd better stick to watching the ooey gooey previews of this movie.