took a break from films after the 2007 release “El Cantante,” Lopez
continued to work on her music, producing TV and film projects and she
gave birth to twins.
“I was just home, kind of on maternity leave,” says Lopez during an interview at the
In the film, Lopez plays a single woman who wants a
baby so much she decides gets artificially inseminated. It’s at that
moment when she meets the man of her dreams, played by Australian hunk
Lopez liked that she could relate to everything in the script, having just experienced many of the same pregnancy moments.
“So many things in this movie is art imitating
life,” Lopez says. “This script was just perfect. Throughout my career
I have always felt that certain things come to me at the right time.
When I look at the work I have done, it’s always kind of indicative of
where I was in my life at the moment. This was the same thing.”
The script also appealed to the 40-year-old
moments to painful misunderstandings — with the modern story elements
of single parenting, social responsibility and being an independent
woman.
There was nothing significant about her return to
acting — Lopez just felt it was the right time. But knowing she was
going before the cameras did motivate her to stick to the diet and
exercise regiments she started after the babies were born.
She opted for a romantic comedy because she’s had success in the genre with “The Wedding Planner,” “Maid in
The key to a good romantic comedy, says Lopez, is playing the role as real as possible.
“When you do that, it’s funnier and you really get
the emotional beats,” Lopez says. “I do that whether it’s a drama or a
comedy. But with a comedy I just have a little more fun.”
The genre has also given Lopez her biggest film
flop, the 2003 release “Gigli.” But that was the rare bump in a
successful and diverse career, which includes selling more than 35
million albums worldwide, a best-selling line of fragrances and her own
clothing line.
Now she must deal with the J.Lo empire as a working
mom. She got a glimpse of that challenge when she had to leave her
2-year-old twins to do interviews for the movie. They begged her not to
go.
“It was tough. I’m just going to have to figure it
out as I go along. I told them ‘I will be home and the sun will still
be up.’ I tried to explain to them I wouldn’t be away that long,” Lopez
says. “But, it’s difficult.”
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(c) 2010, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).
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