This is a fish-out-of-water story, which is normally a reliable premise for laughs. Unfortunately, it feels like a half-hearted attempt to re-make a modern take on such classics like Working Girl and Pretty Woman. Or the more recent, and very wonderful The Devil Wears Prada.
A re-envisioning of an old theme would be fine if the film was very funny…but it wasn’t. I chuckled here and there, but mostly felt suckered into watching a drama. Everything that’s funny was stuck in the trailers, and the rest is a wide detour into a middling mother-and-daughter story.
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Anyone who reads my reviews knows I like very few dramas, even the good ones, of which this one is not. This is a fluff piece.
Jennifer Lopez gave it a good old college try, and she’s not a bad actor. I’m just not sure she has the gravitas to shoulder an entire movie. I like her best in ensembles.
I don’t feel it’s necessary to go into the plot, direction, or style, since it’s shot like a television sitcom. Second Act was mediocre at best, and I hope there isn’t a sequel called Third Act in the works.
Average movie. Wait to stream it.
Grade: C
About The Peetimes: I have 3 Peetimes here, nicely spaced out, but the 1st and the 3rd ones are better – they are mostly music montage scenes. I tried to avoid the most funny segments, or scenes with dramatic emotional impact.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Second Act. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)
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Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)