Once upon a time, Jennifer Lopez proved that she could act.
Okay, maybe we're being a little harsh on Jenny from the Block, but in 1997 she did in fact exhaust her limited acting skills playing the title role in Selena, a biopic of Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Known by her fans as simply “Selena,” the young singer was killed at age 23, just on the cusp of superstardom. Sure, the film is chock full of clichés, ranging from repeated foreshadowing and split screen musical performances to familiar plot elements like romantic rebellion and parents with broken dreams.
But its earnestness and love for its subject — it was made with the participation of Selena’s family — shine through to turn the potentially corny into something fun, sweet and touching. So sit back, prepare to memorize every song in Spanish and try not to foresee the future for J. Lo that is Gigli.
