Jennifer Lopez Doesn't Think Her Panned 2003 Flop Is One Of The Worst Movies Ever

There are certain movies that over the years have become film industry shorthand for box office fiascos: "Heaven's Gate," "Ishtar," "Waterworld," "Cutthroat Island," and so forth. But in truth, I have no idea why "Waterworld" keeps getting name-checked as a massive bomb, seeing as it eventually broke even and inspired a massively popular stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood. Also irksome: The worst of these movies, "Cutthroat Island," is at least packed with jaw-droppingly elaborate spectacle, while "Heaven's Gate" and "Ishtar" are genuinely great movies from two of the most talented directors of their era (Michael Cimino and Elaine May).

I've long held that a film's box office is of little concern to the general public. Once upon a time, if you were interested in the movie business, you had to shell out for a pricey subscription to Variety or The Hollywood Reporter. Then "Entertainment Tonight" debuted in 1981, and suddenly everyone could keep tabs on the top five films at the box office — though, in the early years, actual grosses weren't provided, so the whole thing was treated like the Billboard Hot 100, and context was thoroughly lacking. But while firm screen numbers were never mentioned, ET would make a big deal out of a major star falling short of the top spot over their new movie's opening weekend. ("Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton's 'Rhinestone' debuting at number four can't be music to 20th Century Fox's ears" would be an ET worthy quip.)

That a movie went wildly over-budget is no concern of yours. If you want to drill down into why studios are struggling right now, start with executives' obscenely inflated salaries. Most suits are rotten human beings who climbed the corporate ladder by having no morals. They're generally ill-equipped to do their job, have zero interest in movies, and mask their greed/incompetence by firing people who are competent and actually love films.

The worst execs also have the appalling tendency to meddle in the production of a movie they greenlit (or, in some cases, inherited from a previous regime), and when they muck it all up, they let the ETs of the world do their shallow, sensationalistic thing and blame the film's stars and/or director. This was very much the case with the aforementioned movies, and it was certainly true for Martin Brest's Ben Affleck-led bomb "Gigli." But unlike those other notorious disasters, "Gigli" hasn't received a critical reappraisal. Still, if you do happen to be a fan, you might just be able to enlist co-star Jennifer Lopez as a prime supporter.

During a 2015 appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," the host ribbed Lopez for having appeared in "Anaconda" — which is weird because Luis Llosa's "Anaconda" is a blast (punctuated with a great final scene for Jon Voight). Lopez shot right back, "I was also in 'Gigli."

When Meyers reminded his audience that the film got a load of negative publicity because Affleck and Lopez were dating at the time for reasons that still make no sense, Lopez responded, "We got a lot of crap at that time. It was because we were together. It was a whole other thing going on as well." She then laughed and remarked, "There's worse movies than 'Gigli' out there, okay?"

That's not exactly a full-throated endorsement of "Gigli," but Lopez was also in Francis Ford Coppola's "Jack," so she knows her fiascos. When I revisited the film a while back (for work), I thought Affleck and Lopez had dynamite chemistry and was surprised the infamous "gobble, gobble" scene elicited a genuine laugh. It's a funky movie that's all over the place tonally (and not in a good, Bong Joon Ho way) and, worst of all, features Justin Bartha playing a character with a mental disability. (Seth Rogen auditioned for the part and has said the tape would end his career if it ever surfaced.) Still, although I think "Gigli" has value and works on occasion, it is, at best, an interesting failure.

I'll let Brest, the action-comedy maestro who also gave us "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Midnight Run," have the final say on "Gigli." As he told Variety's Todd Gilchrist in 2023:

"Extensive disagreements between the studio and myself got to the point where post-production was shut down for eight months while we battled it out. In the end I was left with two choices: quit or be complicit in the mangling of the movie. To my eternal regret I didn't quit, so I bear responsibility for a ghastly cadaver of a movie."

Brest had more to say about his experience on "Gigli," so I highly recommend reading that interview after you watch the film. Because a studio movie this utterly flabbergasting deserves two hours of your time.