Jennifer Lopez Reveals Her Top Four Favourite Films

Jennifer Lopez is often spotted living it up on luxury yachts or pocketing a cool couple of million to belt out a few tunes at lavish weddings for the ultra-wealthy. Every now and then, she’ll pop up in a film, though if you’re pressed to name anything she’s starred in since 2019’s surprisingly solid Hustlers, you’re not alone. The main reasons? She’s been focusing on her music, including some seriously lucrative Las Vegas residencies, and the films she’s made lately have mostly landed on streaming platforms. These are the sort of titles you stumble across late at night, wondering if you’ve ever even heard of them. Think 2024’s Unstoppable (a wrestling drama), Atlas (a sci-fi flick), The Mother (2023), and the rom-com Shotgun Wedding (2022). Honestly, they could be about anything, and they tend to blur together like the spoof trailers at the end of 22 Jump Street.

That said, there was a time when Lopez was one of the most sought-after and highest-paid actors in the business. She starred in big-name rom-coms like Maid in Manhattan, shared the screen with George Clooney in the 1998 crime caper Out of Sight, dabbled in horror sci-fi with The Cell, and even joined Jason Statham for a not-half-bad action outing in Parker. Clearly, she was doing something right back then.

Lopez’s Go-To Films for a Night In

But what does Lopez herself like to watch when she’s kicking back, maybe counting her cash on a bed made of cash? Letterboxd caught up with her on the red carpet and asked her to name her four all-time favourite films. She answered with the kind of enthusiasm you’d expect from someone who’s been asked the same question a thousand times.

First up, she picked West Side Story—the original 1961 version, not the Spielberg reboot. Adapted from the 1957 stage musical inspired by Romeo and Juliet, it’s all about rival gangs on New York’s Upper West Side, which these days is more about pricey lattes and museum visits than street rumbles. Starring Natalie Wood, the film is a classic, having won ten Oscars from eleven nominations.

Romance, Grit, and a Bit of Fantasy

Next on her list was The Notebook, the rain-drenched romance starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. It’s a film that’s won over heaps of women and left plenty of blokes less than impressed. As The Guardian put it on release,

Dentistry in the Renaissance couldn’t have been more painful than watching this

.

Her third pick was A Bronx Tale, Robert De Niro’s first go at directing, released in 1993. Starring Chazz Palminteri, it’s a gritty coming-of-age story set in the world of New York mobsters. Lopez has always been proud of her Bronx roots—her hit ‘Jenny from the Block’ makes that pretty clear, with the line, “No matter where I go, I know where I came from (Southside Bronx, from the Bronx)” just in case anyone missed it.

A Quirky Classic to Round Things Off

Rounding out her list was Prelude to a Kiss, a lesser-known 1992 romantic fantasy starring Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan. It’s one of those odd body-swap stories—think Freaky Friday—where Ryan’s character kisses an old bloke and, for reasons best left unexplained, swaps souls with him.

So, Lopez’s top four? West Side Story (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, 1961), The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes, 2004), A Bronx Tale (Robert De Niro, 1993), and Prelude to a Kiss (Norman René, 1992). Not a bad mix for a night in, if you ask me.