WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
I think I’ve mentioned a lot about my odd tastes in music as a teenager. Well, at the start of her music career J.Lo didn’t quite make the cut, however she has gradually made her way in there but I noticed it has never been her solo stuff. Two of the songs I absolutely love of hers have been Control Myself with LL Cool J (who I’ll discuss in a different article) and Booty where she worked with Iggy Azalea. Now, I also wasn’t a big fan of her acting career but that’s because they always seemed to be romances and they really aren’t my cup of tea most of the time. So, in a way – I wrote this article to prove myself wrong…
Hustlers
I’ll be honest, the first time I saw this film I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. J.Lo isn’t the lead role, but possibly the most important one in the whole film because, without Ramona, there would be no story. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this character because there’s a whole nice side to her but a much darker person lies underneath. She starts out as this lovely person, but once the druggings begin, her character changes and I’m not so sure I like her anymore. There’s so many layers to this film, including female comradery and the seedier underbelly that is the strip club industry.
Side Note: If I look and can move as well as J.Lo at 49 (that’s how old she was when she made this film) I would be one happy woman!
Bordertown
This definitely is not the type of film I would have expected Jennifer Lopez to make. It’s so dark and ‘gritty’, especially in comparison to some of the films I have known her to do and will mention later in this article. The fact that this film is inspired by true events makes me feel terrible because to think that something like this was going on in Mexico (I can’t say is because obviously no one knows) is just heart-breaking. J.Lo’s character says that “It was cheaper to cover it up than to protect the women” – I think I’ve paraphrased as I cant remember the exact quote but you get the idea.
However, I feel like in comparison to the other two films in this article, J.Lo’s acting is sub-par. I’m not saying that it is completely bad, but for such an intense storyline it could definitely be better.
Maid in Manhattan
I decided for a long time not to watch this film as I always said it wasn’t my type of film. I don’t do these romantic films. However, watching it in order to write this article – part of me wishes I hadn’t put it off because I quite enjoyed it. I expected a Pretty Woman style story but it turned out to be more of a Cinderella story. The best thing for me was that usually with films of this style, it would be Ralph Fiennes’ character Chris that would be told to give up Marissa (played by Jennifer Lopez…of course) but instead they flipped this on its head and it is Marissa who is told to give up her relationship with Chris in order to become manager. As with all these films it doesn’t go to plan but that’s for you to see when you watch it.
This is the second of the three films where J.Lo is playing a mother and I really like the connection that she has with the young actor playing her son.
Honorary Mentions
As I mentioned at the beginning, I slightly avoided J.Lo’s films because they always seemed to be romances. Only I forgot until I re-watched it for a different article that she’s actually in Anaconda which has prompted me to look even deeper and realise she is actually in a few films that I really enjoy. For example, she has acted alongside the late, great Robin Williams in Jack and even does the voice of Azteca in one of my favourite animations, Antz.
