Jennifer Lopez has captivated audiences for decades with her multifaceted talent, but it’s her tumultuous romantic life that takes center stage in her latest passion project. This Is Me…Now: A Love Story marks Lopez’s triumphal return to music after an eight-year hiatus, paired with a fantastical companion film riding high on girl power and camp.
Part autobiography, part fantasy, the movie charts Lopez’s personal growth from heartbreak to self-love, weaving in Puerto Rican folklore and leaning heavily into astrology. With an ensemble cast of celebrities personifying the zodiac signs, it’s an absurdist romp through the pop icon’s most intimate ups and downs. Yet beneath the glitzy veneer lies an earnest message about the journey of healing.
While the film careens wildly between CGI dreamscapes, music video pastiches and Lopez’s therapy sessions with Fat Joe, there’s an infectious exuberance to it all. The musical numbers showcase JLo at her charismatic best, with slick production design but emotional rawness. For diehard fans, it may well achieve its goal of resonant catharsis. For the uninitiated, it’s an eye-popping curiosity. Love it or hate it, This Is Me…Now is a uniquely personal statement from an artist unafraid to lay her soul bare.
A Star-Crossed Song and Dance
This fantasy rom-com follows JLo starring as a fictionalized version of herself known only as “The Artist.” We open on Lopez narrating a Puerto Rican folktale about two forbidden lovers, Alida and Taroo. When they’re tragically separated, the gods transform Alida into a red flower and Taroo into a hummingbird, destined to search for his lost love. The Artist sees herself in this tale, longing for her own fairytale romance.
That fantasy seems to manifest when she falls for a motorcycle-riding hunk with a very familiar jawline (Ben Affleck). But after a blissful ride, he dies in a violent crash, leaving the Artist’s heart shattered. What follows is a chaotic emotional spiral into toxic rebounds, failed marriages, and eventually group therapy sessions.
Interspersed with all this are elaborate musical numbers set to tracks from Lopez’s new album. These transport us through the chaotic landscape of the Artist’s mind, whether it’s a steampunk factory powered by rose petals or a mansion made of glass that hosts her abusive relationships. The slick choreography provides some highlights, including a nod to JLo’s own romantic comedy past.
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Adding to the zany tone is the celestial Zodiac Council comprising stars like Jane Fonda, Keke Palmer and Post Malone. These cosmic beings fret over the Artist’s string of disastrous relationships, wondering if she’ll ever learn to love herself. The Council’s trivial banter and astrological pontificating lead to some amusing moments.
As the Artist processes her heartache through song, dance and therapy, she comes to recognize her inner child and past romantic failures. By the climax, it appears she has grown enough to welcome love when it returns in the form of – spoiler alert – a reconciled Ben Affleck. Their long-awaited reunion remains off-screen, but This Is Me…Now still stands as a chaotic fairytale ending to Bennifer’s romance.
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Song, Dance and Catharsis
The beating heart of this fantasy flick lies in the musical interludes, which run the gamut from industrial dystopia to romantic comedy pastiche. The slick production design of these set pieces immerse us in the chaotic landscape of JLo’s mind.
In the opener “Hearts and Flowers,” Lopez leads a troupe of workers desperately trying to restart a sputtering mechanical heart. It’s a nightmarish sequence, but the crisp choreography shines as they contort around the monstrous organ. Later, during the playful “Can’t Get Enough,” dancers decked out in bridal gear perform an exuberant Bollywood-style routine as Lopez cycles through husbands.
Other standouts include “Rebound,” an emotional contemporary piece with Lopez and her fellow dancers yanked together and apart by ropes, evoking volatile relationships. The stripped-down “Broken Like Me” also packs a punch, with its raw lyrical therapy session coming to life through tender movement.
A few musical interludes like “Midnight Trip to Vegas” fall strangely flat, drowned out by chaotic CGI environments. And tracks like “This Time Around” are relegated just to the credits, feeling truncated. But when the choreography clicks with the visuals, as in the exhilarating finale ode to “Singing In the Rain,” Lopez and company achieve some moments of real catharsis.
For fans, these set pieces spanning camp and earnestness may well prove the most compelling element. The slick song-and-dance numbers shotgun us through the loopiest corners of one artist’s self-reflection.
A Visual Cornucopia
With a lavish budget and Lopez’s glitzy maximalist vision, this romantic dramedy explodes with over-the-top visuals. The use of saturated colors and CGI transports the audience through the chaotic dreamscapes of the heroine’s mind.
We traverse through stunning environments like a futuristic heart factory powered by workers in stylish hazmat suits. A mansion with walls made entirely of shattering glass provides a striking symbol for a toxic relationship. The trippy ending set at a desert music festival seemingly mashes Burning Man with JLo’s Super Bowl halftime show.
The kaleidoscopic visuals and production design make even the most surreal of concepts pop with vibrance. When it clicks, as in the exhilarating “Singin’ In the Rain” homage, it has an infectious exuberance.
Yet at times, the frenetic CGI and green screen backdrops feel more distracting than transportive. Scenes set in Lopez’s childhood home of the Bronx particularly fall flat, the shoddy effects detracting from the intended poignancy.
Ultimately the maximalist aesthetic overload stays true to JLo’s artistic vision. For those along for the glittery ride, it’s an odyssey through the 324-carat diamond dreams and emerald heartbreaks of one eternal romantic.
An Ode to the Hopeless Romantic
At its schmaltzy core, This Is Me…Now is an exploration of romance through the eyes of a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic. Lopez lays bare her ceaseless quest for storybook love, from giddy infatuation to Splitsville heartbreak.
The film’s central conceit draws from a Puerto Rican fairytale about forbidden lovers fused into eternal forms – the red flower and hummingbird. Lopez’s stand-in, The Artist, chases this mythical connection as one relationship after another crumbles.
Through extravagant song-and-dance vignettes, we traverse the thorny valleys from reckless rebounding to bridges burnt yet again. “You love love…it’s what you do,” her friend The Cynic caustically observes. But the Artist persists, believing Mr. Right must be out there somewhere.
It’s only after repeated sessions with therapist Fat Joe and some tough self-reflection that she starts examining the root of her “love addiction.” An emotional confrontation with her inner child ultimately leads Lopez to a place of healing and self-acceptance.
The messaging around learning to love yourself first comes across in earnest, if not subtle, ways. Those seeking nuanced insights may be left unsatisfied. But for fans enraptured by the admirable optimism of Jenny from the Block, it could prove a resonant journey.
In the end, This Is Me…Now stands as an unabashed celebration of the heart’s inexhaustible capacity for hope and renewal. Lopez bares her own resilient organ for all to see, rejecting cynicism for wide-eyed romanticism.
The Lopez Charm Offensive
Ever the triple-threat, Jennifer Lopez anchors this fantasy flick with her trademark megawatt charisma. As emotionally volatile as the film’s CGI landscapes, she toggles convincingly between gushing infatuation, wrenching heartbreak, and gradual self-acceptance.
In the many musical vignettes, Lopez gives it her all, exhausting herself to connect each bombastic set piece to her personal journey. She lays bare her tears as well as her slick dance moves with an admirable lack of vanity. Belting her lungs out while clad in a T-shirt labeled “Endangered Species” – the lack of self-awareness somehow makes it more poignant.
Lopez also shares an easy, lived-in chemistry with costar Fat Joe as her level-headed therapist. Their sessions provide comforting respites from the visual chaos where Lopez gets to demonstrate her comedy chops. Meanwhile, off-kilter cameos from the Zodiac Council reveal little nuggets of surprising charm from the eclectic mix of celebrities.
This phantasmagoria lives and dies on the force of Ms Lopez’s will. Ever earnest in her messiness, she wins over even the most skeptical viewer through sheer megawatt moxie. By laying bare her foibles and resilience with such abandon, Lopez the actor may achieve moments even more compelling than JLo the pop diva.
Catharsis Through Camp
As an introspective musical odyssey, This Is Me…Now lives or dies on its ability to resonate beyond just fans of La Lopez. So does it ultimately deliver universal poignancy amidst all the trippy pop spectacle?
At its most unhinged, the film teeters on self-parody with random celebrity cameos and absurd green screen backdrops. Yet Lopez barrels through with such earnest conviction, laying bare her wounds and tenacious romanticism, that she emerges genuinely sympathetic rather than narcissistic. Moments spending time away from the sensory overload to sit with her in therapy and confront her past prove genuinely affecting.
As pure entertainment, the film is best appreciated as an amped up visual album set to euphoric highs and club bangers. The musical sequences allow Lopez to flex her trademarks – slick choreo, virtuosic pipes, dazzling glamour – while advancing her personal journey. For non-devotees though, the plot through-line can feel lacking.
Ultimately, This Is Me…Now thrives most as a piece of pop performance art. Those along for an avant-garde deep dive into one icon’s psyche will find it easier to surrender to the film’s absurdist heights. Rather than straightforward catharsis, it provides a buzzy contact high – an unbound celebration of the healing power of sequins, stilettos and self-love.
So while the film may not win over critics, for fans it undoubtedly marks Lopez’s most compelling and unconventionally personal statement thus far. All hail Jenny from the Blocktopia!
An Imperfect Ode to Imperfect Love
As a piece of personal catharsis, This Is Me…Now makes for an admirably ambitious passion project. As a traditionally cohesive film, it often bites off more than it can chew. Yet its messy earnestness remains refreshing and resonant for those along for the wild ride.
While the plot careens wildly between CGI fantasyscapes, Lopez anchors it all with charismatic conviction. For all its tonal inconsistencies, her willingness to lay bare private pains lends genuine emotional payoff. Meanwhile, the slick musical numbers allow Jenny from the Block to dazzle at her showstopping best.
Ultimately this “cinematic odyssey” works best as a visual album, or a companion piece to the record it’s named after. Fans will delight at its maximalist cabaret while gaining insight into their idol’s resilient romanticism. Mainstream audiences may prove more perplexed. But applause is still due to Lopez for bravely mounting such an idiosyncratic star vehicle in the first place.
So I recommend this film with caveats. Viewers frustrated by logical gaps or loose structure may want to pass. But as an avant-garde celebration of outsized self-love in all its glitchy, vulnerable glory, This Is Me…Now delivers one woman’s hard-won fairytale ending.
The Review
This Is Me...Now: A Love Story
As an experimental passion project, This Is Me...Now: A Love Story ultimately soars thanks to Lopez's willingness to showcase both her talent and her scars without vanity. If the messy structure doesn't hold it all together, her earnest charisma fills in the gaps. Jenny from the Block lays her resilient heart bare in a messy, exuberant quest for connection - and the show-stopping song and dance numbers prove impossible not to root for. For Lopez devotees along for the postmodern fantasia, it will dazzle and inspire. Mainstream crowds may prove perplexed. But applause is still due for such an ambitious, idiosyncratic display of tenacious romanticism.
PROS
- Slick musical numbers & choreography
- Lopez's charismatic performance
- Visual spectacle and production value
- Unexpected emotional resonance
- Novel premise and creative risk-taking
CONS
- Uneven tone & messy structure
- Lackluster plot
- Self-indulgent at times
- CGI can feel excessive
- May not appeal to mainstream crowds
