Second Act

I don’t care at all about Jennifer Lopez’s music but I have to say some of her films are guilty pleasures. They have that certain charm to them and she plays her roles well. With Second Act I expected more of the same because of the semi interesting premise. Its kind of my own dream to fake it till I make it in a wealthy industry, so maybe I was actually looking for pointers. The film is decent at times but suffers from a second half reveal that really takes the film off course and felt idiotically contrived.

The film is about a woman who has been an assistant manager at the local Value Shop for 15 years. She recently gets turned down on a promotion and soon her god son sets her up with an interview with a high end consulting job for a skin care line. Before you know it, her fake resume and profile get her in and she uses whatever tools and resources she has to stay in that excellent position despite not exactly knowing what to do. The film also stars one of the only guys who can rock a mustache, Milo Ventimiglia.

The film has a few humorous moments but not enough to detract from some of its duller moments. There is a stupid reveal in the film that feels so stupid and convenient and its actually terribly hard to ignore and kind of insults its viewers with its complete unlikelihood. Lopez brings her best effort but its a film that doesn’t have enough going for it to engage.

J’Lo does come around every now and then with a movie role and most of the time it works in a guilty pleasure like way. Unfortunately, you get some of that with Second Act but not nearly enough entertainment from the plot and the direction of the story. Now, if only I can figure out a way to find myself a second act at a job and escape the current misery.

5.5/10