A Different Kind of Music Documentary

Read Time:2 Minute, 42 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Halftime
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Genre: Documentary, Music
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 35m
Director(s): Amanda Micheli
Where To Watch: Premiering Tuesday 6/14 on Netflix

“Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got. I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block. Used to have a little, now I have a lot,” the nearly immortal words from Jennifer Lopez’s 2002 hit “Jenny from the Block.” These words scream humble and arrogant, and I mean that in the best possible way. Lopez started her career as a Fly Girl on the TV show IN LIVING COLOR, and she hasn’t stopped to look back after.

This film is primarily about preparing for Jennifer Lopez’s performance during Super Bowl LIV in 2020. During this performance, she shared the stage with Shakira and, in doing so, received critical acclaim for the performance. Although looking back, things weren’t always pure and gold as they may seem.

I have recently been a little burned out on musical documentaries; both Taylor Swift’s MISS AMERICANA and BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD'S A LITTLE BLURRY felt a little bought and paid for. However, Eilish’s was slightly less so, but HALFTIME seemed the most sincere of them all. I felt like I was legitimately watching her story instead of an advertisement for what she had wanted her story to be portrayed as.

I think honesty is an essential aspect of a documentary; unfortunately, honesty can be faked just as easily as it can be sincere. Anyone with a camera can make a documentary and claim it is accurate. So we never truly know, but when an artist with the standing that J. Lo has, opens up and shows her true self, you’re more likely to try and take the words as truth in the story.

A true inspiration to all, I honestly had no clue; I thought her story started with IN LIVING COLOR and was only uphill from there. I never stopped to think about what the mockery throughout the years in the media meant. What her heritage and her childhood prevented her from doing and more. If you didn’t already have a massive level of respect for her, this film would show you a tiny taste of the trials and tribulations she’s gone through and the gigantic hills she’s overcome to get where she is.

If you get the chance, check this out for no other reason than to know more today than you did yesterday and maybe appreciate where “Jenny” came from and who she is today. Lastly, just my two cents, but she was absolutely robbed by not winning the Golden Globe for her performance in HUSTLERS, let alone not getting nominated for the Academy Award.

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