DIRECTOR:
Peter Segal
LEAD CAST:
Jennifer Lopez, Vanessa Hudgens, Leah Remini, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia
PRODUCER:
Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Justin Zackham, Benny Medina
SCREENWRITER:
Justin Zackham, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
MUSIC:
Michael Andrews
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Ueli Steiger
EDITOR:
Jason Gourson
PRODUCTION
COMPANY: STX Films, H. Brothers
DISTRIBUTOR:
STX Films
COUNTRY: United States
LANGUAGE:
English
RUNNING
TIME: 104 minutes
Technical sssessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: V13 – with
parental guidance
MTRCB rating: PG
Maya
(Jennifer Lopez) just turns 40-year-old and struggles with frustrations for not
having achieved more in life. As an experienced, quick-witted, perceptive
employee of a megastore, she is passed over for a promotion for not having a
college degree. Maya is devastated. Overhearing this, her godson secretly
creates and revamps her online identity landing her a job as consultant at a
high-end consumer products company. Being street-smart, she quickly earned
respect and confidence of the CEO and he pits her against his daughter Zoe
(Vanessa Hudgens) to see who can better design an organic skin care line. But
Zoe turns out to be more than just a corporate rival. How long can Maya keep up
with her made-up identity?
Second Act is neither a romcom nor a drama—it is a comedy
with a heart. Lopez brings out her romcom background best in this movie with a
lot of maturity. Her commanding screen presence perfectly fits the Cinderella
plot device. Lopez and Hudgens look good together and the twist in their
connection in the film is both surprising and sweet—making the film veer away
from usual predictable endings. The supporting actors give enough comedic
flavor as well. The female bonding is smoothly executed in the film and the female
second leads deliver the film’s sentiments.
The film in its entirety is a delight to watch and the audience are sure
to have good laughs in between plenty of sobs and inspiration.
Second Act serves as
inspiration to the aging sector in general and to women in particular. Most
especially the film talks to those who have unfulfilled dreams or those who are
thinking that they were not given equal opportunities in life for some reason—lack
of education, poverty, unexpected pregnancy, etc. Second Act simply says it is never too late to chase after what one
really wants, or to work for a dream. Living in society that puts so much prime
on the young—the film is a mild eye-opener. Maya’s character may be flawed with
wrong choices or wrong decisions but she is not imprisoned by regret. Instead,
she stands up and dusts-off her mistakes and corrects them in the process. The
truth has set her free. More often than
not, people would choose comfort over truth but Maya chooses otherwise. She is
an example of woman’s strength of character that looks beyond selfish desires—willing
to risk everything for the sake of truth. However, there is clear indication of
co-habitation in the film and sexual relations outside marriage—so the young audience must be
guided on this. The deception is taken lightly as well although taken into
context, it is said in the film that there is no substitute for truth-telling. CINEMA
deems the film as appropriate only for audiences ages 13 years old and above
with parental guidance.—RPJ
