J.Lo was already on my mind this morning, long before her Interview magazine spread and chat with comedian Nikki Glazer dropped. At least, before I noticed it had dropped, because I was busy rushing to Midtown East to catch a screening of the new Sean Baker film Anora.
The film stars Mikey Madison (one of my favorite Ghostface killers from Scream 4!!) as Anora, an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch, which deeply upsets his family. It’s another one of Baker’s takes on the American Dream, following in the footsteps of The Florida Project, Tangerine, and Red Rocket. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year and during a private screening for sex workers to honor them for their guidance in making this film. The dancers in the audiences clacked their pleasers together to thank her.
Anora is fucking excellent btw and Mikey eats down. Naturally, the film brought me back to the movie Hustlers, another well-received film about sex workers that starred Jennifer Lopez in 2019. The film had rave reviews and Oscar buzz for Lopez. She won a slew of awards leading up to the nominations, including the LA Film Critics Association, and she landed on several Best Actor of the Year lists. Lopez ended up nominated for a Globe, though she didn’t win. She wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Laura Dern won that year for Marriage Story. Whatever!
In 2019, everyone loved Jennifer Lopez (well, not Laura Dern up until the Oscar noms I presume). Fans, critics, and the public alike. She was up! And when she got back together with Ben Affleck, it was messy, but we didn’t care, we loved two Leos trying to make it work again. Then… this year happened. The divorce after less than a year of marriage. Lopez being dragged online constantly for not singing her own songs. An awful Netflix movie. And a self-indulgent vanity project This Is Me… Now: A Love Story and an accompanying documentary.
J.Lo was no longer up.
But a funny thing has happened recently. In the midst of the divorce, we’ve seen her have a public reconciliation with Ben Affleck and the actual love of his life, Matt Damon. She’s on a press tour for a new biopic Unstoppable where she plays Judy Robles, mother of Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and became a wrestler who went on to win an NCAA national championship.
And then, I leave the Anora screening and open my phone to find… this interview. I was thinking about J.Lo and somehow manifested her.
You wanna know the best thing about this interview? She looks fucking BANGING.
You wanna know the second best thing about this interview? She doesn’t mention Ben AT ALL.
Every single quote is about her “summer” or about “resilience.” But there’s not a single mention of her divorce or the man she reunited with, only to split from once again.
This Is Me… Now: A Love Story was all about how J.Lo believes in the undying power of love. Now, J.Lo believes in the Power of Self.
Being in a relationship doesn’t define me. I can’t be looking for happiness in other people. I have to have happiness within myself. I used to say I’m a happy person, but was still looking for something for somebody else to fill, and it’s just like, “No, I’m actually good.”
Nobody does a rebrand like J.Lo.
i'm sorry when does she NOT look good?
the way january-now has been ERASED 😭 the brujería is strong here lol.