Jennifer Lopez Fans Rejoice: She Is Incredible in ‘Unstoppable’

It can be so undignified, being a fan.

You’re locked into an obligation that you have no control of, and likely are unsure why you were drawn to it in the first place. You find yourself defending poor career choices, championing projects you know aren’t up to snuff just to be supporting, and, at its most embarrassing, being wildly histrionic and hyperbolic when the person you’re a fan of actually does something truly, irrefutably good.

I come to you in that embarrassed state of histrionics and hyperbole. And yet, true fan that I am, with pride as well: Jennifer Lopez is incredible in her new movie Unstoppable.

The movie is now available on Prime Video, if you want to see the proof for yourself.

It’s based on the true story of Anthony Robles (an equally fantastic Jharrel Jerome), a wrestler with one leg who triumphed over both physical limitations and the societal ones put on him to become a national champion. J.Lo plays his mother, Judy, who floods him with unconditional support, even while drowning under her own struggles.

It is the Rudy-est of Rudy-esque sports movies. (My knees creaked while I typed that; does Gen Z even understand a Rudy reference?) Suffice it to say, it is uplifting, packed with scenes designed to make you cry. You will feel so inspired by the feat of athleticism that, after watching the movie, you will sit up and think, “I’m going to go for a run and get in shape.” You will not go on that run, but you will think about it—and that is beautiful in its own right.

You’ll also be as moved by Judy’s journey as you are by Anthony’s. That’s owed to how shockingly lived-in, emotionally raw, and, at risk of being patronizing to the star I’ve just admitted to being a fan of, actress-y Lopez is in the film. While the incandescent “J.Lo” of it all remains irresistible and magnetic when she revisits her rom-com bread-and-butter in films like Marry Me, her performance in Unstoppable is further proof of a potentially robust future as a supporting or character actress in prestige films.

Listen, as someone with a closet full of voodoo dolls he made of every voting member of the Academy after Lopez’s Oscar snub for Hustlers, I’m conditioned to seek justice for the star when it comes to her earning respect for her talent. Almost every Unstoppable scene she’s in could double as a nomination reel, and, while hardly a challenging film, it is good enough that I wonder if its absence from most of awards season is due to lingering ridicule over The Blind Side’s embrace—or something.

In any case, you can check out her big scene below, which has the added bonus of my favorite movie phenomenon: When a character says the title of the movie.

Being a J.Lo fan is no easy work.

There’s a large contingent of people who just plain hate her, to an extreme level that I find inexplicably at odds with mere rumors of diva behavior or simply not liking her projects. (It’s worth noting that Lopez recently made headlines over how huge her donation was that she made to victims of the Los Angeles fires of clothes, accessories, and products from her personal collection and closets. She also canceled major press stops for Unstoppable to focus on relief efforts.)

One of the things I admire about her career is what makes it hardest to defend: She is willing to do such a wild variety of things that for every Hustlers or Unstoppable triumph, there’s a humiliation like her recent This Is Me…Now-related projects, cancelation of her tour, and return to status as tabloid chum with all the gossiping over her Ben Affleck divorce and who was at fault.

Why be a J.Lo fan, then? Well, why be a fan of anyone at all? It’s a calling that one can’t explain, like a vocation. And as someone who has built a large part of his writing career on snark, cynicism, and judgement, it is against character to be a fan of anyone at all; I hate fans! Plus, Lopez is the kind of over-the-top famous star I would routinely be mocking, did I not love her so.

In any case, I feel good in objectively recommending Unstoppable now that it’s on streaming, and I’m very curious to see if anyone’s J.Lo opinions change after watching it.

This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.