The film is a behind-the-scenes making of another recent release by Lopez, also available on Amazon. Lopez albums are discussed, and the film could serve as a marketing tool for other Lopez products. Some clothing brands are shown, especially Nike. Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Instagram are all seen or mentioned.
Violence & Scariness
a little
We see Lopez and an actor filming a scene where he abuses her physically. Lopez admits later to a confidante that she was not beaten up herself in the past, but she was "manhandled," and treated "roughly" and with "disrespect." She says she felt emotionally neglected as a child, and she suffered extreme heartbreak when she and Affleck broke up in 2004.
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Lopez and Affleck snuggle, hug, and kiss. Scenes from her music videos show her in embraces with actors. Dancers move suggestively. There's discussion of Lopez's "booty."
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Lopez is Puerto Rican American. Many of her collaborators are Black and/or Latino. She talks about her childhood in the Bronx, and the film shows pictures of her before she was famous. Another interviewee talks about growing up with her in the Bronx and how that neighborhood shaped them and made them more resilient.
You have to love yourself to love others. It's okay to show weakness and admit shame. Investing in yourself can have positive outcomes. Nobody is perfect. The prize for aging is wisdom. Success can be found in just doing something, regardless of its reception.
Positive Role Models
some
Lopez demonstrates perseverance in making a film that loses financing and is questioned by her friends and loved ones. She also is shown to have been persistent throughout her life and career. She admits to some compulsive behavior when she was younger, in not wanting to be alone and seeking out relationships, resulting in a string of failed marriages. She also talks openly about heartbreak, love, abuse, childhood insecurities and trauma, fears in her career, feeling the need to prove herself, feeling like she's letting everyone down all the time, wanting to be a good parent, not being as physically agile as when she was younger, and more. Others demonstrate how much they care about Lopez.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that celebrity Jennifer Lopez opens up about her life, loves, and career in the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, a film that has significant swearing and also serves as a marketing tool for another recent Lopez film. Her revelations tackle mature material, such as mention of previous violent relationships (being "manhandled" and treated "roughly"), heartbreak, insecurities, and childhood trauma. Her husband, Ben Affleck, references his past troubles with alcohol. The two of them snuggle, hug, and kiss. There's discussion of Lopez's "booty." Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," "damn," "goddamn," "hell," "bitch," "d--k," and more. Lopez made a film nobody believed much in (This is Me… Now: A Love Story), thanks to perseverance as well as hard work and talent To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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What's the Story?
THE GREATEST LOVE STORY NEVER TOLD is a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows Jennifer Lopez and her team as they put together, rehearse, and film the recent musical This is Me… Now: A Love Story. That film was built around Lopez's newest album of the same name, which came out 22 years after her This is Me… Then album. The documentary has two main themes -- watching Lopez self-finance, choreograph, rehearse, plan, and question the musical she's making, and hearing Lopez examine her history as a child with insecurities, a lifelong need to be loved and appreciated, her relationships, her artistry, and so on. There are interviews with collaborators and husband Ben Affleck, and the film weaves in archive images and footage of Lopez's life and career.
This revealing documentary serves as a companion piece to the new album feature film, This is Me… Now: A Love Story, raising that endeavor and providing a unique glimpse into a celebrity's life. In The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Lopez explains the impetus behind the unusual album project, which received mixed reviews. The insight from this explainer infuses that rather odd earlier film, which Lopez self-financed, with new meaning. It leaves the viewer wondering whether these two films might have been blended together for a more successful overall result. If you are only going to watch one of these new Lopez vehicles, choose this one.
More than a traditional making-of, this is a fascinating and emotional self-examination of Lopez's own evolution. She admits a lot on camera, from allowing herself to be "manhandled" and treated roughly and disrespectfully in the past, to devastation over her 2004 break-up with Ben Affleck three days before their planned wedding, to the physical realities of aging. Affleck appears somewhat uncomfortably in front of the camera here, and he sits behind it to interview her too. Jane Fonda, who has a cameo in the musical, wonders why Lopez wants to make the film and says it could come across as defensive or having something to prove. Fonda's not entirely wrong. But Lopez makes a convincing case for why she feels defensive, and there are scenes here that feel very honest and raw. Fascinating stuff, and not just for fans.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Lopez shows perseverance in The Greatest Love Story Never Told by getting her other film made. How has that character strength served her well over the years?
Do you think it was brave of Lopez to be so open in this documentary? Did you feel she had something to prove or defend, as some have suggested? Why or why not?
Did you feel the documentary kept an engaging pace, or did you ever feel bored? How do filmmakers gather and edit together different kinds of elements to make a documentary?
In what ways might documentaries like this one, where a celebrity is involved in its creation, be limited in the scope of what they include or discuss?
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