Second Act

Everyone deserves a second act.

Jennifer Lopez is Maya. She's an ambitious go-getter in a dead end job, and gets passed up for a promotion even though she's innovated the market, because her credentials are less than impressive. Everything about her life is coming together. Maya has the perfect boyfriend (played by the hunky Milo Ventimiglia), the most supportive circle of friends, including her bestie, Joan (Lea Remini) who's loud-mouthed and full of moxie. Maya hasn't made the best decisions in her life, but she's not through taking risks.

With the help of Joan's son, who doctors up Maya's resume and gives her a more than formidable presence online, the opportunity of a lifetime comes knocking, and Maya takes a job as a corporate consultant for a high end cosmetic company. Before she knows it or has time to clear the air about her phony experience, Maya is thrown to the wolves and finds herself in the midst of the machinations of corporate competition – and loving it! Vanessa Hudgens plays Zoe, her business adversary and the company's VP, but Zoe is much more than that.

Zoe is the daughter that Maya gave up for adoption years ago, and, as fate would have it, now has a second chance at building a relationship. Unfortunately, everything Zoe knows about Maya is a lie, and it's obvious that its becoming more and more difficult for Maya to keep up with the deception – especially as she gets closer to the daughter she gave up as a teen, and she (perhaps) loses the love of her life. It's a fine line for Maya who suddenly has everything she's ever worked her heart out for and is still trying to figure it all out – before it all comes crashing down.

Jennifer Lopez is wonderfully endearing in these types of roles. She has a genuine way of articulating the journey of the "authentic woman." The actress, who is also actually a triple-threat, who can basically pick and choose the movies she can help produce and star in herself, also went the distance to surround herself with her true-life friends. Lea Remini and Lopez have a tangible chemistry and you can believe the pair have been in each other's lives through the thick and thin. They center the narrative extremely well.

Written by Justin Zackham and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, "Second Act" is surprisingly sweet and a really warm feel-good film. It's impossible not to fall for Jennifer Lopez's Maya; she really is among one of the most relatable characters Lopez has ever played. "Second Act" is a contemporary "Pretty Woman." It's full of lovable characters in a situation that resonates and is full of all the best parts of what is needed on a fun flick to fill a Saturday afternoon. The Blu-ray package doesn't pack very many bonus features, but the movie itself is worth a second glance.

"Second Act"
Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD Combo Pack
$19.99
https://www.uphe.com/movies/second-act