Respond to these rapid questions in our Second Act quiz and we will tell you which Second Act character you are. Play it now.
Even Jennifer Lopez’s incomparable charms are powerless against a shambolic script in “Second Act,” a mishmash that suffers from an identity crisis on par with its name-switching, past-hiding, resume-inflating lead character. The fact that Lopez is both the producer and the star of the film may provide a hint as to what’s going on. As is so often the case, this means that the movie is more concerned with what Lopez would enjoy doing than with what the audience would enjoy watching him do it.
In order to avoid this, Lopez casts herself as Maya, a character who is instantly and devotedly loved by every other character, even when doing so throws the plot out of whack. Despite her lack of formal education, she is a “street smart” woman who, if she can find a way to believe in herself, can outshine all of those “who name their children after fruits and climb Mt. Kilmanjaro” types who believe they are all that. Her real-life wisecracking best friend (Leah Remini) is cast as her movie wisecracking best friend, and she plays Jenny from the block at the beginning of Maya’s makeover transformation so that she can get all glam at the end.
Lopez may be able to get away with ignoring the most ridiculous details of the story because of this lovely little wish list, but it is not enough for us. It is acceptable to ask the audience to suspend their disbelief for the duration of a film. It is not acceptable to insult us with obvious and sloppy details. That means there’s no problem with a Cinderella story in which the fairy godmother is a tech-savvy adolescent and the gown for the ball is a fabricated Ivy League resume and some Photoshopped images of her with the Obamas and, yes, on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The problem arises when a suspicious rival at her new job calls Harvard to determine whether Maya was actually a student there, only to discover that the same tech-savvy teen somehow redirected the call to his own cell phone?
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It is one thing when Maya’s years in retail provide her with a valuable perspective that would have otherwise been overlooked by those in charge of the company’s top management. And perhaps we can accept the notion that a large corporation would provide a new employee with a luxurious apartment as well as a slew of credit cards. In addition, it is possible to create a new skin care formula from the ground up and have it ready to go to market in a few months. However, Maya’s “street smarts” enable her to come up with the perfect fully organic ingredient just in time to save the day, thanks to her unique ability to think on her feet. Even before we get to the un-twisty twist, that is simply too much.
Second Act Quiz
Maya has been working at a big box store for the past twelve years, and she is hoping to be promoted soon. The executive position, on the other hand, goes to the guy with an MBA, not the “street smarts” woman with a GED. As a result of her teenage godson creating an online persona for her, she receives a job offer from one of the store’s largest suppliers, which she accepts.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Second Act quiz.
The boss (Treat Williams) divides his employees into two groups and challenges them to come up with a better product. He assigns his daughter, Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens), to be in charge of the more secure team. Maya is currently in the lead in the long shot. And before long, the entire concept of street smarts versus book smarts is abandoned in favor of a soapier, less interesting storyline.
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The script contains some amusing lines, as well as excellent support from Remini and a group of Maya’s former colleagues, as well as Charlyne Yi and Annaleigh Ashford, who play Maya’s new assistants and who deserve to be the subject of their own film. Due to desperation or sheer laziness, the film resorts to two of the most overused comedy tropes: a child using foul language and a dance number to an old song (“Push It”).
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Maya, in contrast to Tess in “Working Girl,” a much better film from which this one is attempting to borrow, has not actually done the work to obtain the credential or conducted the research to demonstrate that she can add value. The film’s point of view is uncomfortably anti-educated people, if not outright anti-educational in its approach to the subject matter. The movie portrays “street smarts” and instinct as more authentic and valuable than the kind of dumb team-building exercises that a person with an MBA would consider worthwhile, even though the characters are encouraged to pursue higher educations. School does have value; if this script had been graded by a teacher, she would have returned it with corrections and insisted on a second draft.
For more personality quizzes check this: Charlies Angels Quiz.
