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"Jennifer Lopez's new movie gave me 2 hours of basic joy and I'm not sorry about it."

 

I’d been wanting to see Jennifer Lopez’s new movie Second Act ever since I first saw the trailer.

At first glance, it had everything I could want from a movie.

Comedy? Tick. JLo? Tick. Love interest? Tick. A supportive rough around the edges best friend for comedic relief? Tick.

Now I’ve finally seen it, I can confidently say…

Second Act gave me two hours of basic joy and I’m really not sorry about it. At all.

Second Act’s whole shtick surrounds JLo’s character Maya, a working class woman from outside of New York who’s been slogging it out as a department store assistant manager for years.

She’s very similar to the Maria, character she played in 2002’s Maid in Manhattan, but moving on.

Maya’s 40 and she wants more from her career. She’s extremely capable and loved by her co-workers, but is overlooked for a promotion because she didn’t go to college.

After making a birthday wish for ‘street smarts to equal book smarts’, her godson secretly applies for a ritzy sales executive job at a cosmetics company on her behalf with a resume that stretches the truth.

From there, predictable hilarity ensues.

You can watch the Second Act trailer below. Post continues after video.

Video via Roadshow

Amongst the great dad jokes, sexual innuendo gags and incredible JLo power dressing moments, the movie tries to make a statement about the double standard women ‘of a certain age’ are fighting against in the work force.

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It’s something so many women are dealing with right now. Growing up, I’ve watched my mum demand to be valued and taken seriously at workplaces who don’t see experience as a qualification.

But in the same Stan’s fictional comedy drama Younger shows a 40-something Liza pretend to be in her 20s to work at a publishing house, Maya’s career rise is completely unrealistic and obviously not what anyone would recommend you do to get a job. The idea of having to change yourself to be accepted also sits a bit funny, but again, it’s a fictional comedy and not meant to be based solely on real life experiences.

For me, the film had other things to offer. Like the genius comedy of JLo and Leah Remini, and watching Vanessa Hudgens pretending to be an ice queen, high powered millennial executive.

And a truly ridiculous plot twist that is just too much of a stretch to ever comprehend but you go with it.

The fashion is great, too. Maya’s Jenny from the Block hoop earrings are iconic.

But above all else, I left the cinema after 104 minutes of movie watching and felt great. While so many incredible stories have been told through film in recent years, the old rom-com genre’s been sitting in the corner waiting to be dusted off.

Not every movie has to be deep and heavy, or make you think, or even be realistic. Sometimes, they can just be fun like Second Act.

Plus, anything with JLo in it is a win for me, and if my mum asked me to go see it again with her, I’d say yes.

Second Act is in cinemas from Thursday, December 6.

Are you going to see Second Act? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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