Jennifer Lopez has dropped her much-awaited music album, along with a musical-comedy - something she has never done before. Is this movie worth your time? Read on to find out.
While Jennifer Lopez has starred in various works, ‘This Is Me…Now: A Love Story’ truly stands out and is a unique add-on to her filmography. It presents a “narrative-driven cinematic odyssey” mixed with some Puerto Rican mythological characters and personal growth and healing. Released in conjunction with a studio album of the same name, this Amazon original movie transcends genres and offers an intimate view of her journey in finding love.
‘This Is Me…Now: A Love Story’ is more like an autobiography, but also a self-help exercise. The narrative revolves around Jennifer Lopez portraying a ‘hopeless romantic’ version of herself, named Artist. After enduring a heart-breaking loss when her true love dies in an accident, Artist becomes a woman seeking love in others but doesn’t know where to find it. The film unfolds as she takes on a turbulent healing journey, marked by toxic rebound relationships, numerous therapy sessions, three unsuccessful marriages, a try at even Love Addicts Anonymous meeting and guidance from a comical celestial Zodiac Council, overlooking every bad and good decision she makes. Filled with new songs from her album, which is a sequel to her 2002 album ‘This Is Me…Then,’ the film is set against the backdrop of true events in Lopez’s life.
It’s no doubt that Jennifer Lopez is a versatile star, who has already proved her acting prowess in her previous works. She has this knack of captivating anyone who’s watching her on-screen. Be it drunk or a cry for help, she has gracefully gotten into character to play herself. Kudos to her for being so courageous to put herself out there for the world to see her past wounds, her mistakes and anxious thoughts, and vulnerably, rather, musically, revealing the effort she put in to love herself before finding a love that she had always dreamed of having.
But for me, I absolutely loved how unhinged the Zodiac Council is. The concept is just so fresh. Who would have ever thought to see an eclectic mix of personalities all in one room? As expected, Scorpio (Keke Palmer), Cancer (Sofia Vergara), Libra (Trevor Noah), Leo (Post Malone), Taurus (Neil deGrasse Tyson), Virgo (Kim Petras), Aries (Jay Shetty), Pisces (Sadhguru), Gemini (Jenifer Lewis) and Cancer (Jane Fonda), are never on the same wavelength and have differences in opinions and have such dynamic interactions, which was extremely fun to watch. It’s like none of them are even acting, they’re just sitting at a round-table, minding their own business.
Other than these, the rest of the cast doesn’t particularly stand out, but do help in carrying the narrative forward, except for Ben Affleck; I’m not quite sure why he’s even in the movie.
The script, penned by Lopez herself with the help of Matt Walton, is unique. There have been many films that have accompanied an artist’s studio album, but this was a very unique take, not the first of its kind, but rare, hence making it fresh to see. The dialogues, with certain metaphors, are heavy, hitting the audience precisely where it matters. The overall concept, blending small moments of Lopez’s personal journey with an audio-visual representation of her fresh music has given a somewhat elaborate insight into her life. And because she has penned it herself, you know it’s as close to authentic as it can be. Even the direction by Dave Meyers, who has been a frequent collaborator to Lopez’s music videos, has done a good job. Having a lot of experience in directing music videos for artists, and considering this movie is half a musical, it would have been a piece of cake for the Grammy-winning director.
The camerawork by Scott Cunningham and editing by Adam Pertofsky go hand-in-hand in this intimate confession-romantic fantasy of a film. The utilization of almost all kinds of camera shots is mind-blowing. Though the editing feels a bit uneven at some places, it can be allowed to slide, if we’re looking at the bigger picture (which is the moral of the story). And how can we not talk about the music? I mean, JLo is back! A few tracks from her album have been perfectly used to complement the narrative. (Personal fav: ‘Can’t Get Enough!’) Even the choreography for some songs is weirdly addictive, alongside the captivating fashion and glamour, which truly establishes Lopez as ‘a fashion mogul.’
Director: Dave Meyers
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, Jane Fonda, Trevor Noah, Kim Petras, Post Malone, Keke Palmer, Sofia Vergara, Jenifer Lewis, Jay Shetty, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sadhguru, Ben Affleck, Gilbert Saldivar, Tony Bellissimo, Derek Hough, Trevor Jackson, Paul Raci, Bella Gagliano, Brandon Delsid, Ashley Versher, Malcolm Kelner, Alix Angelis, Danielle Larracuente, Matthew Law
Available On: Amazon Prime Video
Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes
Premiere Date: February 16, 2024
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Language: English
Yes.
The crux of the story is the long-standing saying – how are you going to love anyone else, when you can’t even love yourself? Instead of finding love in others, learn to love you. The film is a musical take on the same message. But its focus doesn’t seem to be on how audiences really make of the film; it’s more of an ode to Jennifer’s growth and the ability to see herself in a new light. With its full-circle moments and the guest appearances, the movie is something you can easily watch to pass your time. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you decided not to watch it either.