Jay (Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her)

"He might turn out to be the man of your life."

- Jay talking to Rose about Albert

Jay is a hero from the 2000 film Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her. He helps his mother Rose cope and overcome her problems of loneliness and longing for companionship. In the film, Jay appears in the segment titled Someone for Rose.

He is portrayed by Noah Fleiss.

Jay lives with his mother Rose in a suburban neighborhood. The film mentions little of Jay's father other than he no longer lives with Jay and Rose. Jay is a fifteen year old white male. His hair is black with frosted tips. He attends school and has a muscular athletic build. He wears normal male teenage clothing which includes boxer shorts for his underwear. Jay's first pair of boxer shorts have a solid light blue color with no discernible patterns. The film shows only these boxers during the bathroom scene between Rose and Jay. Jay's second pair of boxer shorts is seen for the rest of the segment. Jay's second pair of boxer shorts have a vertical stripe pattern which appears as alternating shades of green.

Heroic actions
Jay's first appearance shows him helping Rose cope with her loneliness. During one morning, Jay feels something itchy on his back but he is unable to view it. He asks his mother to look at it for him. She inspects it and tells him that it's just a freckle. Jay was worried it might be a pimple. During the scene, Jay allows Rose to give him a very needed hug. In addition, Jay lets her smell his breath even though he has stated many times he has been brushing his teeth regularly.

When both are ready to start their routine morning drive they notice that a new neighbor is moving across the street. Jay suggests introducing themselves to the new neighbor later tonight. Rose is reluctant but keeps the idea in mind. During the drive to school, a girl on a bike waves to Jay. This forces Jay to reveal to Rose that the girl is Angelica, a very friendly classmate. Rose teases Jay about his recent bodily development (slight facial hair) by calling him "peach face" as he walks away from the car towards his school.

After dropping off Jay at school, Rose goes grocery shopping where she sees the new neighbor again. After grocery shopping, Rose again sees the new neighbor as she drives back home. Jay's idea of meeting the new neighbor inspires Rose to stop the car and offer the new neighbor a ride home (since they both live across from one another). During the drive, the two get to know each other and share embarrassing / intimate details about their personal lives. After dropping off her new neighbor Albert, Rose's doorbell rings and she is greeted with a bonsai tree as a gift. She thinks it's from Albert. Therefore, she goes to her garden and prepares a potted plant to give to Albert. When Rose tries to give her gift she accidentally walks in on Albert as he is just sleeping in his bed. Rose sees that the bonsai tree is definitely from Albert because he has one just like it on his dresser. Rose is suddenly surprised to see Albert had woken up and is looking at her. She runs back to her house embarrassed on how her attempt at gift giving failed.

When Jay comes back from school Rose tells him about the new neighbor. Jay is thrilled and hopes that Albert may become the man in Rose's life. Jay provides some needed companionship to Rose by conversing with her. The conversation reveals that Jay's father doesn't live with them. Also, the conversation reveals that Jay helped provide some emotional release to Angelica even though he doesn't consider her as his girlfriend. At night, Jay and Rose talk some more. Jay says some more comforting words to Rose.

While washing dishes, Rose noticed that Albert left his front door open. After her conversations with Jay, Rose tries again to talk with the new neighbor. As she approached Albert's door, the door suddenly closes. Rose stands for a few moments contemplating her actions. She walks back into Jay's room and receives emotional support after her attempt of trying to talk to Albert failed.

At the end of the movie, all of Jay's efforts towards helping Rose worked. Albert is shown in front of Rose's window holding the flowers Rose meant to give earlier. They both share a smile to each other. Finally, Rose's loneliness and longing for companionship is over.