Jennifer Lopez is feeling reflective and we don't blame her – she's lived a pretty unbelievable life. And now, her much-awaited Netflix documentary, Halftime, has finally released on Netflix… so we can all relive it with her. Grab the snacks, stat.
The film focuses heavily on one of the most iconic moments of her career – the Superbowl halftime show – whilst also acting as a retrospective, now that she's at the mid-point of her life. Revealing it's purpose during an interview with the New York Times, the multi-hyphenate explained that the documentary will focus on the year she turned 50 (2019), referring to it as the year "everything I had worked for in movies, music and fashion just started happening.”
In the trailer we see behind-the-scenes clips of 2019, which was an incredible year for JLo. She starred as Ramona in Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers, which saw her receive long-overdue critical acclaim (and a Golden Globe nomination). She was recognised for her services to fashion, receiving the CFDA’s Fashion Icon Award and breaking the internet (again) after walking the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week wearing the iconic Versace jungle dress that she wore for the Grammys in 2000.She embarked on the It’s My Party world tour, then went on to headline the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira.
But, we see her at her most vulnerable, too. Looking back at her life, the singer admitted “I lived in the public eye and I believed a lot of what they said.” Clipping from headlines describe her as a “diva” and “serial bride”. Magazines covered her breakup with Ben Affleck writing “The bad boy who broke her heart.” Critics labeled her acting “lightweight” and an interviewer ask her deadpan “how do you feel about your butt?” There's even a clip where Jimmy Kimmel cruelly jokes “If I was in front of Jennifer Lopez and she said ‘you can’t sing,' I'd say ‘neither can you.’” in a throwback interview.
Ben Affleck makes a short cameo. “I said to her once, doesn't this bother you,” he revealed, adding “she said, ‘I expected it.'"
But JLo admits, “I had very low self esteem. I had to really figure out who I was and believe in that, and not believe in anything else.” She highlights the way young stars were treated by the media in the noughties.
She takes the moment to make her agenda clear, too. “I'm trying to give you something with substance,” she says in a shot of her preparing for her halftime performance. “Not us just out there shaking our f*cking asses. I want something real."
She explains: “I do this, not for an award. I do the to connect with people and make them feel things – because I wanna feel something.”
“My whole life, I've been battling to be heard, to be seen,” she concludes. And in this documentary? She makes sure she does just that.
The once engaged couple won't be splitting any time soon.
Aside from the documentary, J.Lo's been using her work to give us a hint of what life in the spotlight is really like. In her recent film Marry Me, the actress played a lonely superstar who agreed to marry a stranger on a whim.
In an interview with People, JLo described playing the role as "really fun and also cathartic," adding that she enjoyed "revealing a little something of what it's like living in the public eye."
She also opened up about her relationship with Ben Affleck, saying, “I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that's happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe. It deserves that, it really does. ... We hold it sacred.”
Since then, the couple got engaged, making all our 2000s dreams come true.
The color of the ring is very significant.
