I have long viewed Jennifer Lopez, who is an amazing actress and artist, as a bit of a narcissistic diva. In other words, I appreciate her art and talents, but wouldnt want to know her in person. She seems kinda fake, like someone who tries overly hard to project an image of perfection when reality is anything but that (and she confirms that is what she has been doing in the movie), and it makes it hard for the discerning person to like her, trust her, or root for her. This movie, in many ways, confirmed my perceptions of her and the irony was that this was her attempt to let down her guard and be vulnerable, yet it seems like she just can't help but be less than honest. It was funny (in an ironic way) to watch Ben try to call her out on her dishonesty in some respects. It also confirmed to me that they are not in love, nor are they soul mates. All I feel is tension between them, which I have sensed from afar, not infatuation or even love, and certainly not the greatest love story never told. So if my perceptions are correct and she can't see that - if she is unable to face reality because of the stories in her head and the need to control the narrative and her image - it makes me sad for her.
The only shocking part to me was that Ben has a deeply romantic and thoughtful aspect to his personality (in terms of the "bible" he gave her). He has a deep side, which you really don't see in the chatacters he chooses to portray. So it was nice to get a glimpse of that. And I think he genuinely cares about her as a person. But I don't think they are in love.
But their relationship kinda makes sense...a recovering alcoholic/liar pairs with another narcissistic liar (someone who lies to herself, not just others) in an effort to make things appear okay to the outside world. I mean...he didn't even realize their first break up broke her heart until he read the script for this movie. So what do they talk about with each other? Work? The weather? How can a relationship grow when people stay at such a surface level with each other? So I hope for their sakes, they can find the deeper path to honesty at some point. Cause truth truly sets us free.
The overall impression I have gotten from Jennifer Lopez lately is that she thinks we are more enamored with her than we actually are, and I have gotten that impression from her last 2 projects. So maybe she is confusing self-love for self-worship? Cuz they are not the same. So I just pity her more than anything. (Probably not the expectation a famous millionairess would expect from others.) That said, I hope she continues down the path to learning greater self-honesty. This was a step in that direction in some respects so I gave it 5 stars that reason. And I liked seeing her without makeup. Props for that.
