
The fairy-tale-like music grows ever louder and the beautifully authored story is projected onto a screen. The camera cuts to Lopez, the lead of the story who quickly asks “So, have you already learned of the wonder that is Alida and Taroo’s Tale?”. Alida and Taroo are lovers from two different tribes, who are fated to become a red flower and blue and a red hummingbird, due to the gods. She goes on to add how she is returning with a new album This Is Me… Now that she collaborated with the Pathé company on another fairytale “This time it’s about me, how I fell in love What there is to be funny about is that you do not get into a relationship that is ideal enough for people to look at you for years whilst you’ve been in many.” Once again, we see JLo quite passionately say she began her new book while Dolanskaya talked to her about her new fairytale and the reasons behind her hopes. Once, that man appeared in an episode of SNL with Olbermann and comically mocked all the ideas of the Sadaam show (‘Affair with Mike’).
The camera then turns narratively at J. Lo, whilst she fantasizes about the lost driver as J. Lo imagines herself in a dramatic landscape running while holding the driver tightly.
That is until the biker accident, the pair scatter, the image breaks up, and Lopez finds herself in a heart-made factory set in the steampunk troll during the apocalypse. Here we get the film’s first musical interlude “Hearts and Flowers” whose words are as cheesy as the story narraton of Lopez. “I made it through the rain, the trauma, and the pain,” the lady begs while, dressed like the workers from ‘Fritz Lang’s’ Metropolis, together with the bridge, they hysterically try to put the three decayed flowers back into the shattered metal heart.
Though I do believe Lopez’s voice could use a little less autotune, her dances are always infused with energetic finesse. In the music video of ‘Rebound’, we see couples residing in a transparent house while pieces of cloth connect them, according to the amazing German contemporary dancer Pina Bausch, this is how Tanztheater works. Whenever a dancer is released in the choreography the cloth snaps back like a yo-yo. Moreover, in a company therapy scene, she was able to reinterpret the dance of ‘Mein Herr’ of ‘Cabaret’ in a very rough emotional way that makes the focal point of the performance her movements.
The story progresses seamlessly through dream-like rehearsals of Lopez’s new album, sessions with the rapper Fat Joe retained as a close friend by Lopez, and paranoid chats, with members of the ‘Zodiacal Council’ including Jane Fonda, Post Malone, Keke Palmer, Jennifer Lewis, Kim Petras, Jay Shetty, Sofia Vergara, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Trevor Noah and Sadhguru among others who act the parts of both actors and zodiac signs. Each of the alleged models revolves around the 12 zodiac signs Micheal Once joked that he does not know what sign can claim Fort Myers and what actor can call himself an Aquarius or a Capricorn. But trust the astrological world to work its way around that. Indeed what could a detached exhibition be without a bit of narcotic nasty humor? Fat Joe also has his shining moments around the Lopez family, whom he has known for many years. He said something to the effect of ‘I’m not there most of the time’, so I suppose they had 27 years to bond. One of the greatest parts of the show was the “Romantics Anonymous” group session therapy in which there was a focus on the character Paul Raci played as the group therapist.
Lopez’s filmography serves as the deeper meaning rooted in particular songs of Lopez which the singer considers as being better than being single, a therapist, and an admirer of Lopez’s work in the cinema, especially her romance. It seemed very captivating, that Lopez was supposed to dazzle the audience again but this time in a music video for her third single “Can’t Get Enough”. Furthermore, Lopez in her character of Kit does turn the viewers into her own ‘best friends’ and her three failed marriages do provide room for a more humorous parody of being a romantic lead in The Marriage Planner, Marry Me, and the other wedding planner type cast films. It isn’t surprising when Fat Joe finishes the film with his tip of model behavior: ‘We guys don’t talk to our women like that.’ Lopez holds the record for the most dramatic breakup with a view through the camera. All this commotion only explains love in her broad imagination. And all thanks solely to the warmth she displayed while playing these roles she understands the situation of the character, and therefore the audience. Low brow? Not for her.
This Is Me … Now A Love Story is in it enfolded with a self-recovery theme infused with good narrative. As always is the case in these moments, Lopez lengthily talks about herself, while the audience appears shocked.
In terms of negatives, this film lacks CGI and the editing is poor making it feel more homely than something of high quality. The construction of every frame is also a letdown. Lopez’s character was meant to be played by Dave Meyers yet it appears as though he missed the mark. The rain scene from the film that is reminiscent of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ looks spectacular, however, there are some bits that are uninspiring with regards to how the star is portrayed in the eyes of Dave Meyers that puts a damper on the aesthetic feeling of the film.
On the contrary, some have gone as far as to say the film has an element of risk due to the shame of portraying her past mistakes. Lopez goes bare exposing her previous trauma and unfolds an essence of vulnerability through precision. The love story that she had wanted for a long time comes only after grinding her way through the pain and suffering she once went through herself. I do think how Lopez chooses to end her fairy tale is a bit abrupt and throws the viewer off, but considering the amount of attention Bennifer 2.0 has gotten from the media, I think I am justified in saying that they have the right to enjoy some peace without any intrusion during this time.
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