The multi-hyphenate Jenny from the Block who has starred in acclaimed films like “Maid in Manhattan” and “Selena” is ever so charming on screen, and honestly one of the main reasons why people are going to flock to the cinemas to catch this movie.
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Lopez stars as Maya Vargas, a long-suffering employee at a local supermarket was robbed of a chance to be an associate manager despite her efforts and talents. The company chose to promote a man for the job as she had never gone to college and didn’t have the relevant qualifications for it. As a birthday gift, her godson, also her best friend Joan’s (Leah Remini) son, builds a fake resume and social media presence for her and even went as far as to apply for a consultant position at a high-end company that develops organic skin care products.
She lands the job after impressing the boss (Treat Williams) with her knowledge about the products. She quits her supermarket job to embark on her sky-high lifestyle. She leaves her longtime boyfriend (Milo Ventimiglia) after revealing to him that she doesn’t have the intention to start a family with him. She manages to pull through the first few weeks of her made-up persona but as time goes by, she struggles to keep the secret from her colleagues. With her team of assistants (Annaleigh Ashford, Dave Foley and Charlyne Yi), she rivals team Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens) and her assistant Rob Ebsen (Freddie Stroma).
The feel-good comedy reuses a similar Cinderella narrative where the protagonist goes through a makeover to better himself/herself. The first half of the film builds on the ‘makeover’ of Lopez’s character where she ditches her unappreciated job for a lavish transformation. There are a couple of triumphant moments there where audiences are naturally pulled into supporting Maya’s career switch.
Her chemistry with Leah Remini is apparent in the film for the both are best friends in real life as well, and you tend to look forward to their scenes together as they never fail to deliver the funnier gags of the movie.
A scene that got the audiences in the cinema laughing, is the pretty ingenious scene where Maya had to act as a translator to a Chinese business partner as her resume indicated that she understood the language. The only friend that Joan recommended to translate live through her ears is a Chinese vet, which of course, ends up in a hilarious scene of translations-go-wrong.
The multi-hyphenate Jenny from the Block who has starred in acclaimed films like “Maid in Manhattan” and “Selena” is ever so charming on screen, and honestly one of the main reasons why people are going to flock to the cinemas to catch this movie. While she delivers what the film intended her to do - even to go as far as squeezing a few dance moves from the dancing diva, her presence, together with goofy oddball assistants can't quite save the movie from its inspiring, albiet overused story plot.
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