Jennifer Lopez Once Revealed She Found Starring in Romantic Comedies ‘a Little Scary’
Jennifer Lopez has starred in a variety of movies in her long career. But eventually, the actor began to add more and more rom-coms to her filmography despite finding the genre a bit intimidating at first.
Jennifer Lopez feels romantic comedies are necessary
Lopez has had many successful rom-coms under her belt. Maid In Manhattan, The Back-Up Plan, and Shall We Dance are just a few that come to mind when discussing Lopez’s long film resume. Recently, the artist found herself returning to that world by co-starring with Owen Wilson in Marry Me.
One of the reasons Lopez enjoyed doing rom-coms was because she was always a genuine fan of the genre. Apart from that, the star felt that the hopeful messages often delivered by the films were needed.
“But I honestly believe that these movies, especially in times like right now, they really give hope,” The View “At the end of the day, life is really about loving somebody, finding somebody to spend your life with, being happy. What are the important things?”
Because of this, she felt a film like Marry Me was the perfect film to watch given recent events.
“The important things are love, and kind of finding your way, finding your home. Because that becomes so important, especially in the hard times. So, I think these movies are really necessary,” she said.
Why Jennifer Lopez found starring in romantic comedies a little scary
Before romcoms, Lopez featured in mostly heavier films like Selena and Money Train. The Wedding Planner, where she co-starred alongside Matthew McConaughey, was one of her first forays into the rom-com genre.
Lopez first heard of The Wedding Planner years before the movie was released. She was initially going to do the move for less than $1 million, but she was turned down because the studio doubted her comedic abilities. Years later when she became an even bigger star, Lopez ended up being hired for the movie. But according to Wedding Planner director Adam Shanksman, Lopez was much more expensive to hire the second time around.
“The studio made a big mistake,” he once told Crafty Chica. “They could have signed her a long time ago for much, much less. I told them ‘Look, her album is going to come out and she’s going to be huge! You’re going to be screwed!’ They didn’t listen to me and sure enough, they were screwed! On the 6 came out and it was a whole new world.”
But even after getting the role, Lopez was a bit nervous venturing into the rom-com genre. This was because she, too, wondered if her humor was up to par for the film.
“I had always wanted to do a romantic comedy,” Lopez said. “When it finally happened, I thought it was kind of scary. I didn’t know if I was being funny. But dramas are heavy duty. Action pictures are physically taxing. Romantic comedies are fun. All you do is show up on the set and play — that’s what I wanted.”
Jennifer Lopez doesn’t appreciate others putting down romantic comedies
As a genuine fan of romantic comedies, Lopez occasionally feels that they sometimes get a bad rep. Speaking to ET Canada, the Hustlers star took a brief moment to defend rom-coms while also offering her own perspective on the genre.
“First of all, romantic comedies are not light movies. They’re necessary, beautiful movies, and I don’t know why people feel like they have to put them down when everybody enjoys them so much… It’s a very sweet movie, but it’s still a movie about life,” she said.
