Odd as it may sound, Jennifer Lopez is too famous to be an actress.
Most Hollywood stars want all the publicity they can get, but it’s not always beneficial to their careers - or their acting roles.
Lopez has overexposed herself - appearing on magazine covers, MTV music videos, and a very public breakup with P. Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy.
Her latest movie, “Angel Eyes,” is a thriller/drama about a Chicago cop, Sharon Pogue (Lopez), and her love of a mysterious man named Catch (Jim Caviezel).
The film is a story of demons. Sharon struggles to overcome the childhood scars of witnessing her mother’s abuse and Catch also has his own, more personal battles to deal with. Even the minor characters, like Sharon’s family, are all embroiled in painful situations that must be resolved.
The film begins slowly as the audience views Sharon’s daily life. She has insomnia, hates dating and is, apparently, the only female in her precinct. In the midst of all this drama, tragedy strikes and Sharon is almost killed, but Catch saves her life.
Their romance takes off from there, as she is strangely drawn to him. But Catch’s demons, Sharon finds out, run as deep as her own.
The remainder of the movie is a love story. Though Lopez plays a police officer, there is very little action and a mostly touchy-feely story line.
An interesting part of this film is its portrayal of family. Sharon has been estranged from her parents for 10 years and Catch’s family life has disappeared. The two characters are drawn to each other more because of their lack of family than anything else. There is also an emptiness and fear that plagues the two and causes some major rifts between them.
Director Luis Mandoki set a nice tone in the film. While it starts out rather slowly, the fully developed film exceeded expectations. There is an element of the classic black and white Hollywood love story in “Angel Eyes” that was rather surprising, too.
The acting in the film was superb on the part of Caviezel. In the hands of another actor, the part could have turned into a mockery, but Caviezel handled it with a lot of care and sensitivity.
Underappreciated Terrence Howard plays Robby, Sharon’s partner in the force. Howard dazzled in 1999’s “The Best Man” and sparkles in his role in “Angel Eyes.” However, he is unable to fully develop his character because he is such a small part of the film - and that’s unfortunate.
Lopez isn’t a bad actress; in fact, she’s extremely talented as she proved in “Selena” and “Out of Sight.” But all the publicity stemming from her personal life is detrimental to her professional career.
The film’s biggest flaw is that it’s too hard to imagine Lopez as a tough Chicago police officer. It’s difficult to take Sharon seriously when you have a suspicion during the beginning of the film that she is going to burst into “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” at any second. To Lopez’s credit, however, her character does develop enough in the second half to make the audience believe she could, maybe, possibly, in another life, be a Chicago police officer.
Maybe the audience’s overexposure to pop culture leads to questions of Lopez’s validity. For all those who don’t watch MTV, Lopez may appear fresh-faced and perfectly cast as a cop. But come on - a cop?
Despite Lopez’s inability to effectively and convincingly play her character, the film is a solid drama. Fans of romantic flicks should check out “Angel Eyes” in the theater, but everyone else should wait for its release on video.
