By Mr. Will Wong
Hot off its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won raves, Amanda Micheli‘s Documentary focuses on a well-known subject matter. JENNIFER LOPEZ: HALFTIME is an honest, candid look at the hectic world of its titular Megastar, just as she was in the thick of Awards Season for her acclaimed performance in 2019’s HUSTLERS, and also prepping for her much-talked-about 2020 Super Bowl Halftime performance.
At 90 minutes, Micheli gives us a glimpse into the things that define Jennifer Lopez and it isn’t always flattering. For once we get a mirror’s reflection back at how ugly and problematic our objectification of her body is. Things that people have gotten away with for years, and some of the cringe-worthy treatment she’s been subjected to. But the Film also goes much deeper. We get her views on Trump‘s America, an America she no longer recognized being the child of Puerto Rican parents, and now being a mother, what that means for her own children being subject to these messages and seeing the treatment that DREAMers have been given.
Garnering respect as an Artist is something that’s always mattered to Lopez, and something she has and still struggles with. She’s aware of perception – she’s not good enough an Actress or a Singer, but it has never stopped her. Another thing, it wasn’t enough that she headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show being the first Latina Woman ever to do so. She had to share the spotlight with Shakira, another Latina Woman, which intrinsically is saying that one and the other alone was not enough. And so we see her fighting to have creative control over her performance, especially with the time constraints she’s given. And when she wants to make a statement about Trump’s America, and she’s told she can’t.
Much of the Film is spent focusing on the build-up of Lopez potentially getting an Oscar nomination for her work in HUSTLERS, which for many of us looked like it was going to happen. She was winning awards and getting nominated among several key Critics Circles. Those around her are convinced it’s going to happen and as a result, she is too. We all know how that ended, but Micheli does a fantastic job bringing us through the anticipation, excitement and disappointment as we see what the nomination would’ve meant to Lopez, her team and family. And so the uphill battle continues.
Definitely a fascinating watch that has its heart set in the right place, understanding what it is that makes Jennifer Lopez tick. JENNIFER LOPEZ: HALFTIME dares to get intimate and go to vulnerable places that few Celebrity Documentaries could only aspire. It streams now on Netflix.
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