Jennifer Lopez isn't known for taking chances. Most of her rom-coms are as commercial as Hershey's Kisses. Her most provocative pop song is about her caboose. So give the superstar credit for being bold in her latest screen project, "This Is Me ... Now," streaming on Prime Video. The musical, which consists of tracks from an album with the same title, is loosely based on the artist's personal romantic life, sending up the fact that she's been married four times (current husband Ben Affleck makes a cameo, as do Jane Fonda, Trevor Noah and Fat Joe).
When she's not promoting the new tunes, Lopez's character, known simply as The Artist, discovers she has to love herself before she can love another. But that life lesson takes a back seat to elaborate musical numbers that aren't as cheesy or as clever as the MTV videos of the 1980s. The exception: an elegant homage to "Singin' in the Rain" in which Lopez proves she doesn't need a bevy of backup dancers to keep us mesmerized.
Lopez is clearly trying to copy the success of Beyoncé's "Lemonade." Both films deal with the challenges of matrimony, but Queen Bey's 2016 masterpiece had richer material and snappier choreography. In comparison, "This Is Me" comes across like flavored water.
Also this week...
'Rory Scovel: Religion, Sex and a Few Things in Between'
The latest stand-up special shot in Minneapolis features this subversive comic toying with a Cowles Center crowd during sets last November. Scovel specializes in pointing out comedy conventions and then twisting them in a knot. ("I do a lot of Seinfeld stuff," he jokes before breaking every rule Jerry Seinfeld sets for himself.) The material, which includes barbs at churchgoers and defending infidelity, can be just as edgy as his style. Thursday, Max
'George Jones: Still Playin' Possum'
If you want to learn more about Jones, check out Showtime's "George & Tammy," with Michael Shannon perfectly capturing the late legend's complex personality. But if all you care about is the music, then this tribute concert is meant for you. Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker and Wynonna belt out the classics, but it's 88-year-old Sam Moore who steals the show with a subdued version of "The Blues Man." 9 p.m. Friday, PBS
'Becoming King'
When Daniel Oyelowo won the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in "Selma," his wife, Jessica Oyelowo, began documenting his preparation. The result is a must-see film for anyone fascinated by the acting process. The camera follows the Oscar-nominated actor over the course of several years as he watches video, fattens up on fried food and visits the South, all so he can perfect the role of a lifetime. "Becoming King" never ignores the civil rights leader but it ends up primarily being a tribute to the working actor. Paramount+
'Players'
In this amateur-league comedy, a New York sportswriter (Gina Rodriguez) and her immature friends treat dating like an athletic contest, conjuring up elaborate strategies to score. Some of the barroom schemes are fairly clever but the film loses its zip once Rodriguez's character decides to grow up and settle down. Rodriquez's feisty performance makes this tolerable, but her primary co-star, the usually reliable Damon Wayans Jr., manages to get through the entire movie without a single funny line. Netflix
