As Lainey says, nobody loves love quite like Jennifer Lopez. With Bennifer back on and over a year into wedded bliss, JLo is celebrating love, and her love, and her being in love, with new music.
This Is Me…Now drops on January 10, 2024, 22 years after its spiritual sister, This Is Me…Then. A clip of the single “Can't Get Enough” was released this morning as part of the album date announcement. Then, On February 16, 2024, just two days after Valentine’s Day, This Is Me…Now: The Film will premiere on Prime Video. A teaser for the film dropped over the weekend, and a trailer debuted today On The JLo and it’s all about love:
Like Lainey says, this is “pure romance novel love”. It also looks suspiciously like a musical, not just a visual album to accompany new music, but specifically styled like a stage musical. But that would fit JLo perfectly, wouldn’t it? Musicals, especially romantic musicals, are inherently corny. They’re unabashed celebrations of romance and love and people expressing romance and love through song and dance, and would we be surprised, that after the fairytale revival of her most famous love and a year (and change) after her fairytale wedding, that she would be in the mood to go full cornball and celebrate her love Busby Berkeley style?
And she’s doing it all in time for Valentine’s Day, maximizing her love and a global artistic celebration of her love. Valentine’s falling on a Wednesday means that “Valentine’s Day weekend” can either be the weekend before or after the actual date, but JLo has decided to go with after, because that means all of Valentine’s week will be dedicated to her, and love, and Bennifer, as she—they—promote her upcoming film release. Smart and romantic at the same time!
This Is Me…Now: The Film (a Mission: Impossible level of punctuation) is directed by Dave Meyers, but it is co-written by JLo, Matt Walton, and Ben Affleck. Ben is celebrating his love, too! Besides looking like a musical, it appears This Is Me…Now: The Film will tell the story of JLo’s life in love, including her 2004 breakup with Affleck. A note—or a copy of a note—from Affleck is shown in the trailer for the film. As wary as I am of the stage musical styling, I’m going to watch the hell out of it just to see how Bennifer relates their love story. It’s the latest chapter in a twenty-year saga, not a rom-com but an epic romance spanning decades. I will endure the cheese to see how Jennifer Lopez sees her own love story.
Here are Bennifer furniture shopping over the weekend. I would love to know how they’re decorating their home, what some might insist upon calling their love nest. I hope they do an AD Open Door someday, but it took them so long to buy a house, it will probably take them nine years to decorate it.
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