It’s okay, everything’s fine. I want to say that the movie is puerile, but that’s okay. Until we discovered its genesis.
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In “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” (the documentary about the making of the movie, don’t miss it), Lopez reveals that the inspiration for his new music was a scrapbook that Affleck gave him with all his love letters. He presented it to his production team on the first day, as a gift from the content gods. “We left it in the studio and people were leafing through it,” he explains. Affleck, it seems, didn’t know that.
“I was like, ‘You’ve been teaching all the musicians all those letters that, uh…. Oh my God,” he shuddered, clearly mortified.
López spends much of the documentary reflecting on the consequences that his film could have for his career, but very little on its possible consequences for his relationship. Her attitude towards the shooting is decidedly unromantic. At one point, his longtime producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas tries to explain to him that dancer Derek Hough won’t be available to shoot because he’s getting married. “I want you to call him,” she replies.
In another interview, Affleck, who declares himself an alcoholic and has spoken openly about his problems and his sobriety, compares Lopez’s need for affirmation to his compulsion to drink. “In Jennifer’s case, I don’t think there are enough followers, or movies or records… to soothe that part of her that still feels longing and a pain. Ultimately, that’s the job she has to do for herself,” she says.
