Jennifer Lopez : biography
To enhance Lopez’s success in the urban market, promotion of J.Lo ended and a remix album entitled J to tha L–O! The Remixes was released on February 5, 2002. Its lead single was "Ain’t It Funny (Murder Remix)", which also featured Ja Rule, which reached number one in the United States. The remix album debuted at the summit of the Billboard 200, becoming the first to do so. It is the third highest selling remix album in history, with sales of one and a half million in the United States. J to tha L–O! The Remixes spawned two other singles, "I’m Gonna Be Alright" and "Alive", a ballad co-written by her husband at the time, Cris Judd. April 2002 saw Lopez open her restaurant, Madrè’s.
In May 2002, Lopez starred in the thriller film Enough as a woman named Slim who flees her home after being abused by her husband. The film grossed a modest $52 million at the box office, though garnered lukewarm reviews, despite being dubbed a "kick-butt, female empowerment" movie. Filming Enough required an overworked Lopez to practice Krav Maga, and despite being at the height of her fame at the time, she suffered a nervous breakdown while on set. Lopez recalled years later feeling "sick and weird", refusing therapeutic help or medication. She confessed, "I was like – I don’t want to move, I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to do anything." In September, Lopez released her first fragrance, Glow by JLo. It performed strongly despite predictions that it would fail, and became America’s top-selling fragrance.
The month of her engagement to actor Ben Affleck saw the release of her third studio album, This Is Me… Then, which was dedicated to him. It spawned the internationally successful singles "Jenny from the Block" and "All I Have". The album itself, which featured multiple love songs, performed strongly, having sold over two and a half million copies in the United States. December 2002 saw Lopez star opposite Ralph Fiennes in the romantic comedy film Maid in Manhattan. She played Marisa Ventura, a struggling single mother who lives in the Bronx and makes her living cleaning rooms in a super-luxurious Manhattan hotel. Marisa gets mistaken for a socialite by a princely politician, who she falls in love with.Gary Susman (December 9, 2002). . Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 24, 2009. With a production budget of $55 million, the film grossed $155 million at the box office worldwide. The New York Times compared the film’s storyline to her song "Jenny from the Block".A.O. Scott (December 13, 2002). . The New York Times. (The New York Times Company). Retrieved June 24, 2009. Lopez starred opposite Affleck in the romantic comedy Gigli in August 2003. With a production budget of $54 million, the film grossed a total of $7 million worldwide, becoming a box office bomb. The film received universally negative reviews from film critics, who deemed it to be "bizarre and clumsily plotted". Gilgi is often considered to be one of the worst films of all time.
Continued film success, Rebirth and Como Ama una Mujer (2004–09)
In March 2004, Lopez had a minor role in the film Jersey Girl, alongside Affleck. Her character, Gertrude Steiney, dies during childbirth within the first 15 minutes of the film. From the intense media scrutiny following the couple’s break-up, it was noted that "they may need to put Lopez in a coffin on the poster if they want anyone to come". With a production budget of $35 million, the film was a commercial failure, earning a total of $36 million at the box office. The film, however, received generally positive reviews from critics, despite being "full of cloyingly sentimental cliches". In October, Lopez co-starred alongside Richard Gere in the drama Shall We Dance?, a re-make of the 1996 Japanese film of the same title. With a production budget of $50 million, the film grossed a total of $170 million worldwide. It received generally positive reviews from critics, although it was noted that it "loses the nuances of the original", with the loss of cultural context and the addition of high-profile celebrities.
