This Is Me... Now: Jennifer Lopez's 'fun mess'
A 'bonkers' companion to the star's ninth studio album
"'You may think you know my story,' Jennifer Lopez intones in the prologue to her new film, 'but you've never heard it from me before.'" "This Is Me… Now" is presumably her attempt to rectify that, said Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph. Billed as a "narrative-driven cinematic odyssey", and released to coincide with Lopez's ninth studio album, it's a film-cum-music-video that presents the singer doing a succession of "bonkers" things: surviving a high-speed motorcycle crash, single-handedly preventing "a futuristic factory from exploding", getting chased through the Bronx by ghosts, stalking around "a luxurious Los Angeles mansion the size of a B&Q".
By the end, "I can't say I felt any more clued up" on her life than I had been beforehand, but I was "vibrating to the tips of my fingers". Whatever "This Is Me… Now" actually is – "movie, music video, open-door therapy session, entirely insane CG-drenched R&B cheese dream – it is a modern-day pop-art tour de force".
From where I was sitting, it seemed "as shamelessly narcissistic a film" as you could ever "lay eyes upon", said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail. "Unless you're a superfan", this string of "weird dramatised vignettes" are pretty much "unwatchable". Lopez "shelled out $20m from her own wallet" to make "This Is Me… Now", said Nadira Goffe on Slate. And though it is "something of a mess", it's a "fun mess". Frankly, I'd far rather have a star who, in the later stages of her career, opts to pour her millions into a senseless passion project than one who "tortures us all with a three-hour prestige period film for which she went 'method' in the hopes of finally attaining that Oscar".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
5 stellar TV series based on award-winning novels
The Week Recommends Max's 'The Sympathizer' is not the only successful adaptation of prestige fiction
By David Faris Published
-
You Are Here: the new David Nicholls 'past-their-prime' romance
The Week Recommends 'Midlife disenchantment' gives way to romance for two walkers on a cross-country hike
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
The best dog-friendly hotels around the UK
The Week Recommends Take a break with your four-legged friend in accommodation that offers you both a warm welcome
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
5 ways to help the environment while on vacation
The Week Recommends An afternoon of planting trees could be the best part of your trip
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes for car lovers
Feature Featuring a 14-car showroom in Oregon and a Bentley-style apartment in Florida
By The Week Staff Published
-
Olive oil: alternatives for the 'liquid gold'
The Week Recommends As the price of this store cupboard staple has rocketed, we look at ways to save and other oils to use for cooking
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published