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Jennifer Lopez has long been one of the biggest stars in Hollywood’s firmament. The triple threat has amassed a successful career in music and movies, but there’s one genre in the latter where she particularly reigns supreme. Lopez is truly a queen when it comes to romantic comedy. For more than 20 years, Lopez has been lighting up the silver screen with her charm and we’ve rounded up some of her most beloved rom-coms to date that highlight why Lopez has been one of the most reliable mainstays of the romantic comedy genre.
It’d been years since Lopez had taken center stage in a romantic comedy when Marry Me, her latest film with Owen Wilson, debuted. The movie — which featured quite a few meta-undertones concerning Lopez’s real life in the spotlight — reinvigorated our love of the seeing the “Let’s Get Loud” songstress wooing her co-stars and audiences in equal measure.
Believe it or not, Lopez has been one of the most enthusiastic stars to take on the romantic comedy genre. Just look back 20 years ago. Lopez was in The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan back-to-back. Not to mention, she starred alongside real-life beau Ben Affleck in romantic comedies Gigli and Jersey Girl before their initial early aughts split. (Thank goodness, Bennifer is back.)
Now that we’ve waxed poetic about our adoration for Lopez’s hold on the rom-com genre, let’s get to the movies! Here’s our list of most beloved J.Lo romantic comedies and where you can watch them right now.
‘Marry Me’ (2022)
Jennifer Lopez’s latest, Marry Me, features the star showing off all three of her talents in one movie. She sings, she acts, she dances, and we were charmed from the very start. Starring alongside Owen Wilson, Lopez plays singer Kat Valdez.
Just as Kat is about to marry her fiancé Bastian (Maluma) on stage, she finds out he’s actually cheated on her with her assistant. As she heads on stage, Kat decides to still go through with her planned wedding…only with someone else in mind. Once she sees single dad Charlie (Owen Wilson) in the crowd holding a sign that says “Marry Me” (given to him by his friend Parker and daughter Lou), she agrees to marry him. What ensues is a viral wedding, and the two spend their time getting to know one another to find out if their relationship can really last.
Watch Marry Me on Amazon Prime Video.
‘The Wedding Planner’ (2001)
More than 20 years before Marry Me, Jennifer Lopez starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in The Wedding Planner. After the meet-cute to end all meet-cutes (that involves a runaway dumpster, mind you), wedding planner Mary (Lopez) thinks she’s met the one. Steve (McConaughey) is the when one who saves her and is there when she wakes up in the hospital. But once Marry starts planning one of the biggest weddings of her career, she realizes the groom, who goes by Eddie, is actually the man she’s fallen for — Steve Edison.
Watch The Wedding Planner on Hulu.
‘Maid In Manhattan’ (2002)
Just one year after The Wedding Planner, Lopez was back in rom-com form opposite Ralph Fiennes in Maid in Manhattan. Hotel maid and single mom Marisa Ventura (Lopez) is persuaded by her co-workers to try on a wealthy woman’s clothes, when senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall (Fiennes) mistakes her for a socialite and falls for her. Marisa, also taken with Christopher, continues to see him (and hide from him while working as a maid). But as Christopher’s campaign heats up, will their relationship, and Marisa’s secret, be able to last?
Watch Maid in Manhattan on HBO Max.
‘Monster-in-Law’ (2005)
While Monster-in-Law is definitely a rom-com, the real highlight is the fire between Lopez and Jane Fonda. Once Charlie (Lopez) has found the man of her dreams, his mother Viola (Fonda) steps in to try and ruin things. Safe to say, sparks fly between the soon-to-be in-laws.
Watch Monster-in-law on HBO Max.
‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ (2012)
While Jennifer Lopez isn’t in a lot of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, her storyline is one of the less difficult ones to stomach. The film wasn’t exactly beloved when it came out in 2012, but Lopez’s charm somehow makes up for a lot of that. She plays photographer Holly, whose husband Alex might be less prepared to become a father as the two decide to adopt. But when they meet their son, everything changes.
Watch What to Expect When You’re Expecting on HBO Max.
‘The Back-Up Plan’ (2010)
You may have missed this 2010 entry on Lopez’s filmography, so let’s give you a refresher. In The Back-Up Plan, Zoe (Lopez) finally decides she’s ready to have a child. After going through artificial insemination, however, Zoe meets Stan (Alex O’Loughlin). While their romance hasn’t been going on long, it’s only a matter of time before Zoe has to tell Stan she’s pregnant.
Watch The Back-Up Plan on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Jersey Girl’ (2004)
All right, so the last two entries on our list might not be beloved Jennifer Lopez romantic comedies, but we have our reasons for keeping them on here. With 2004’s Jersey Girl, Lopez has a very small role in a movie that was kind of a big deal. It was the last time she and Ben Affleck worked together, and the film came out after the couple’s infamous early aughts split. Lopez and Affleck play a married couple in the film, but it’s only after Lopez’s character passes away in the first few moments that the plot actually kicks in. So much for us Lopez fans, I guess.
Watch Jersey Girl on HBO Max.
‘Gigli’ (2003)
Derided in 2003, and to this day, Gigli is an infamously bad movie. However, it is the film that brought Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck together. And for that reason and that reason alone, we’ll just add it here at the end of the list.
Watch Gigli on Amazon Prime Video.
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