Money Matters, Simplified.
New mom J.Lo's ‘The Back-Up Plan’
by Samia Sehgal - April 23, 2010 - comments
In the movie Jennifer Lopez plays Zoe, a 30-something pet-shop owner, who has given up the search for that special guy, but she is keen to have a family of her own and decides to have a baby via artificial insemination.
Jennifer Lopez did not have much trouble shooting for ‘The Back-up Plan’ as the film allowed her to use experiences from her personal life while putting on the role of an expectant mother.
In the movie Lopez plays Zoe, a 30-something pet-shop owner, who has given up the search for that special guy, but she is keen to have a family of her own and decides to have a baby via artificial insemination.
Predictable?
But like it happens in movies, all important things have inopportune moments. A few minutes after insemination, Zoe bumps into the guy, who is apparently ‘the one’ for her. Lopez’s leading man in the movie is Stan (played by Australian-born actor Alex O'Loughlin), an upstate dairy farmer who sells his appetizing goat cheeses at a NYC farmer's market.
The two grab the same cab at the same time, and though nothing exciting happens immediately, they gradually fall in love. But the big issue is the fetus that has come from some sperm donor’s contribution and is assuming human structure inside Zoe’s womb.
”I had just gotten over my pregnancy myself so it was fresh in my mind. I knew all the good and terrible things that go into being pregnant” – Jennifer Lopez
‘The Back-up Plan’ was promoted as a romantic comedy but the romance is not quite palpable and comedy is rather lackluster. Pregnancy jokes used in the movie fail to tickle the funny bone; other conventional stuff and a gross birthing scene is obviously no draw.
Getting it all together
The actress insists she had a good time making the movie. For Lopez, who is secure due to her recordings, cosmetics, clothing line, and well, Marc Anthony, it was probably more a matter of work-satisfaction than anything else.
Having become a mother recently, the actress was quite comfortable in her role. “I had just gotten over my pregnancy myself so it was fresh in my mind. I knew all the good and terrible things that go into being pregnant,” J.Lo told People.
“It’s such an emotional ride, such a romantic time and there’s so many beautiful things or funny things that happen. You look back and think, ‘Did I cry over that?’”
Her twins Emme Maribel, and Maximilian David, 2, visited their mother on the set one day and Lopez was delighted to have all facets of her life come together.
“I was working and my whole life was merging together, and it was just total happiness for me, a real feeling of wholeness,” she said.