EXTRAVAGANZA FOR THE LOVE ADDICTED
If you’ve loved and lost and loved again, or just want to indulge in some fabulous music and dancing, catch Jennifer Lopez’s ‘This is Me... Now’.
“When Ben and I got back together, we were so happy and in love. We couldn’t believe that we were getting this second chance that neither one of us thought we would ever get. As an artist, it inspired me to go in and make music again ... in a way I hadn’t done since This Is Me... Then, 20 years ago.”
This is a confession by the now 54-yearold Jennifer Lopez. Recorded in 2002, it was her third album and she dedicated it to Affleck. The multi-hyphenate who dropped This is Me... Now on Prime — the movie to go with her ninth album of the same name — is once again using her relationship with Oscarwinner Ben Affleck, now her husband (for the second time), to spur her artistic vision.
Lopez and Affleck famously connected while filming Gigli in 2001. Lopez divorced her husband Cris Judd in mid-2002 and she and Affleck were engaged by the year’s end. By January 2004, they’d called it quits. Their relationship provoked a media frenzy so the world sat up when the two began appearing loved-up all over again in 2021, and fans celebrated when the couple made it official again in 2022. Both are popular and each has been through troubles publicly: Affleck with substance challenges and J-Lo with matters of the heart.
The mother of twins, Maximilian and Emma (born in 2008), who she shares with her first husband, the Latino singer Marc Anthony, she doesn’t shy away from her truth.
“I’ve had my heart broken. I’ve been through three divorces. Yet I realised I actually believe that true love does exist. But there was this journey of the 20 years in between that led me back to this place. I thought: ‘How am I going to express the things I learnt and discovered about myself? How can I share the lessons that I learnt along the way?’”
The answer is a film that’s really a string of high-end music videos with fantastic sets, costumes and dance pieces showcasing her new album. She also pulled in a bunch of A-list actors and personalities to portray the “zodiac gods”, who discuss and advise her on her many attempts at love.
Trevor Noah, who is on a high after his Golden Globe nomination, Emmy win and successful gig hosting the Grammys, is joined by Sofia Vergara, Keke Palmer, Jane Fonda and Post Malone, to mention a few. The theme is kinda like a musical extravaganza of self-help for the love addicted.
Lopez says the movie is about a person trying to figure out what love is, how to get it and what it’s all about. It’s about the actual idea of love. Interestingly, the jumping-off point was a collection of letters Affleck wrote to her. One wonders how the boy from Boston feels about having his private life pulled back into the media glare.
Wikipedia suggests he’s on board, with this quote: “I find beauty and irony in the fact [our] love was the greatest love story never told. If you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it.”
The collection of letters, dubbed The Greatest Love Story Never Told, is also the title of a documentary accompanying the making of the movie and album. The film was partly written by Affleck, and he has a cameo at the end.
The film is stylish and staccato. The videos have high production values and Lopez’s fans will love seeing her vibe to her music. Plus there’s also some droll self-deprecation during the fictionalised personal reveals.
Anyone who’s loved, had their heart broken, or enjoys a visual spectacle, will want to add this to their “must-see” list.