It was a rainy Chicago weekend and after a little bit of cabin fever, I hit the movies for some warm, fuzzy, fluffy fun.
Sometimes, you just want to turn your brain off and have a laugh. That means it’s time for a romantic comedy!
And TC is likely going to be mad when I reads I went to see this without her, but when it’s lousy outside, your options of affordable entertainment are slim.
Let’s take a closer look.
Movie: The Back-up Plan
Rating: PG-13
Release date: April 23, 2010
Everyday Adventures’ grade: B
Summary: Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is a single woman living in Manhattan and after years of dating Mr. Right-Nows, she’s ready to forge ahead with motherhood sans man. And of course, as soon as she’s inseminated, she meets Mr. Right (Alex O’Loughlin). Does that actually happen?
My thoughts: In case you didn’t know, JLo is back and looks amazing after having twins. I know this because I got to see plenty of gratuitous shots of her flat abs (b*tch!), ample bosom and smoking hot curves during the 90 minute movie. Thanks JLo.
Overall, this was pretty good. Sure, it falls into Manhattan rom com stereotypes: gorgeous apartment (that normally she could never afford), endless fabulous wardrobe, endless hot friends that go to all the hot spots and everyday person job that likely doesn’t pay to withstand her insanely awesome lifestyle. Yes, there are cheesy lines, yes, JLo overacts at parts and bats her eyelashes and has sex goddess Barbarella hair that is perfect coiffed at every second, BUT there was actual heart and substance behind this that kept me interested, and *gasp* I related to.
Instead of JLo giving up her career to find love, she is already accomplished and went after her non-corporate dream to have a better life balance. She is persistent and knows what she wants and goes to get it without relying on a guy in her life. She also has trust issues with men, always waiting for the next one to leave her and avoiding emotional attachment to help mitigate the sadness when they do leave. Um, did JLo read my diaries?
It was nice to see this kind of character development for female rom com characters because most of them are the opposite, sacrificing their career ambitions for a guy. And because a lot of JLo’s character issues are similar to mine (minus the baby part), I felt like I could connect with her and even nodded along when she misbehaved, etc.
On the cosmetic side, the man candy from Alex O’Loughlin in this movie is pretty insane. He’s slightly damaged, smoking hot, loves cheese (WIN!) and works on a farm shirtless. Um…where you been all my life? I hope to see him in more movies coming up because abs and pecks like that should not go to waste.
Also on the superficial side, a nuance I liked about this movie is that I saw JLo repeat a lot of the same outfit pieces. Normally, rom com movies have a SATC-like closet where nothing is ever repeated. It was nice to see Jenny can be just like us :)
If you’re looking for a good rom com, I highly recommend Date Night, but this is a good…back-up option. PUN!
Did you see the movie? If so, what did you think?
Ok, so I saw this and made the BF go. It was hilarious.
I want to see this. And, I’ll admit, sometimes these J.Lo comedies are just what you need.