J.LO still has something to prove
Halftime Netflix
The most revealing 20 seconds of Jennifer Lopez's new Netflix documentary, Halftime, don't happen until after the footage ends. After a triumphant scene of Lopez singing at U.S. President Joe Biden's inauguration, the screen cuts to black and a title card appears.
“As of this date, Jennifer Lopez has: sold 80 million records with 15 billion streams; starred in nearly 40 films, grossing $3 billion; garnered more than 350 million social media followers; and generated over $5 billion in consumer sales as a brand.” The documentary reminds the audience of Lopez's successes after a 90-minute movie chronicling arguably the busiest six months in her career, from her star turn in Hustlers to her electrifying Super Bowl halftime show.
But none of that is enough. Because it's never enough when it comes to J.LO, a woman who's somehow still operating as both icon and underdog some 30 years after moving to Hollywood.
“My whole life I've been battling and battling to be heard, to be seen, to be taken seriously,” says Lopez, a non-stop entertainer who marked her 50th birthday in 2019 with a 25-city tour.
Halftime is not just a film about the 2020 Super Bowl performance that should've shut down naysayers. In the documentary's most illuminating moments, the glow of Award Show J.LO and the sweat of Dance Rehearsal J.LO give way to occasional peeks into the real J.LO, a woman who's been swatting away asterisks on her record since the beginning.
The middle child of three girls, Lopez wasn't “the smart one” or “the singer,” explains the native of the New York City borough the Bronx. She was “the dancer.” That label stuck with her when she got her start as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch-comedy show In Living Color. But she wanted to break into movies. Fast-forward through decades of movies, albums and outside ventures to the 2019 gritty girl caper Hustlers, which Lopez starred in and produced. She earned golden statue buzz for her “comeback” role as stripper Ramona.
And while Halftime follows Lopez for the ups, such as her first Golden Globe nomination since her breakout role in 1997's Selena it stays with her for the inevitable downs, too.
After losing the Globe to Laura Dern, Lopez, all done up in her custom Valentino gown, walks into a hotel suite filled with her longtime squad and offers a nonchalant shoulder shrug that would break anyone's heart.
Even the Super Bowl performance comes with a caveat. Instead of headlining on her own, Lopez is asked to share the stage with Shakira, making the gig feel like both a boost and a backhand. “It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done,” explains Lopez's longtime manager Benny Medina. But after a few f-bombs of frustration, J.LO takes it in stride — like everything else — and uses the moment to make a political statement against the anti-immigrant jingoism ignited by then-president Donald Trump.
While Halftime can't fully answer the question of who exactly Lopez is, since the star admits she won't reveal all, weaving her many strands together makes the point clear: She's all the things. She doesn't fit into one box, which perhaps makes minimizing her impact easier as a woman of colour who had the audacity to pursue her dreams.