Second Act

Directed by Peter Segal

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens, Leah Remini, Annaleigh Ashford, Dan Bucatinsky, Freddie Stroma, Milo Ventimiglia, Treat Williams and Larry Miller

Reviews by Mitchell Peters

[rating: 3/5]

To be honest this reviewer felt a sense of anxiety stepping into the same cinema where I’d seen Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda battle it out in Monster In Law in 2005. That film felt like a J-Lo low, and few cinematic highs have followed. Buckled in for Second Act, this romantic comedy was written by Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Justin Zackham. It’s not an earth shattering premise, but it’s good enough to hold your attention for the film’s duration. 

Second Act is the story of  a woman (Lawrence as Maya Vargas) who is stuck in a low-paying job. She gets a chance to fufill her career ambitions when a private finance firm is misled into believing that she’s an accomplished consultant and hires her to handle a major business deal.

From the outset the film comes on like a feel good throw back to the likes of Working Girl (1988). Lopez may look like a supermodel, but she’s stuck in a dead end job with zero prospects. With that fake resume under her belt, her fortunes change. It turns out the street smarts she can apply to helping run her local store can also be applied to be big business. 

As Maya’s stocks rise, so do her opportunities. There’s a lovely sense of escapism as the girl from the other side of the tracks enjoys all that Manhattan has to offer. 

Of course, there’s a subplot that drives the whole shebang. There’a a paternal boss, a posse of inappropriate pals, a waining love interest and the child Maya adopted out when she pregnant as a teen. 

Okay, it’s not Citizen Kane … but it’s a hundred times better than Gigli. As a Sunday afternoon escape, Second Act gets the thumbs up. The acting is  solid, you’ll score a couple of laughs and leave the cinema feeling a little more optimistic. 

No, it’s not Oscar material … but sometimes something heavy duty ain’t what you need.