Jennifer Lopez believes that her latest album and its movie accompaniment, This Is Me…Now, are her magnum opus, so she gives the joint project her all. She funds, writes, produces, directs, and choreographs everything with the help of her team, which amusingly includes her lover and muse Ben Affleck. Whether or not it actually is her greatest work of all time doesn’t matter; it doesn’t even matter that people get it. What matters is that she creates it with the undivided fervor of an artist possessed with the knowledge that this is their last chance to make a mark. And it’s that energy that makes this documentary, which is a behind-the-scenes look at This Is Me…Now, so captivating. Lopez is in her element directing the movie-musical of her life. At 54 years old, she’s completely candid (sometimes, amusingly, to Affleck’s dismay) and abandons all need to conform to industry norms. She follows her heart first and her mind second, which explains why her project is as big-hearted and relatable as it is bonkers and all over the place. It’s a bit like The Disaster Artist in that way: watching Lopez’s creative chaos is far more interesting than the creation itself.
"Satisfying as this documentary might be in the greater story of Lopez’s personal growth, it barely hangs together on its own."
— David Ehrlich
"By harnessing not just the drive that made Lopez a superstar but the fragility (especially personal) inherent in its maintenance, Jason Bergh’s film accomplishes something unexpected: offering audiences a truly new way to look at her."
— Todd Gilchrist
Follow Jennifer Lopez as she attempts her most daring project yet: independently producing a new album and cinematic original that explore her twenty-year journey to self-love.
Following the release of her musical movie This Is Me...Now, Jennifer Lopez bares all in this documentary that tracks the inspiration and process behind her most ambitious project yet.
I love how you can’t tell whether Affleck is for or against Lopez’s passion project. On the one hand, he’s famously media-shy and clearly annoyed that Lopez shared his intimate love letters for everyone to read (her entourage teasingly calls him “Pen Affleck”). But on the other hand, he is very supportive and involved, often going behind the camera and interviewing Lopez himself. If these two break up again, I don’t think I’m ever falling in love again.
Get you a girl who dedicates an entire album, musical, and documentary to your relationship.
