Jennifer Lopez Revealed She Loves Romantic Comedies For The Same Awesome Reasons That You Do

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Whenever Jennifer Lopez opens up about her life, fans consider it a gift. And they should, since she's been blessing folks with her performances, comedic chops, and perfect highlights for more than two decades. It turns out that Jennifer Lopez loves romantic comedies just as much as her fans do, and the reason why is so perfect.

On August 17, J.Lo went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and explained why she was so excited to star in Second Act — and why she's so proud of her romantic comedy-stacked résumé in general.

"You need that funny, quirky look at life, that romantic look at life," she said. I think things are tough sometimes and we need that escape."

First off: very true. Second, leave it to J.Lo to articulate why rom-coms are so important. She realizes that they're basically a public service, and one she's long been happy to provide. After all, Lopez starred in romantic comedies for more than a decade, with films like Monster-in-Law, The Wedding Planner, and Maid in Manhattan basically achieving icon status instantly upon their release.

It's been a minute since audiences have seen Lopez anchor a rom-com with a bubbly, grounding energy only she can bring, likely because she has starred in the NBC crime drama Shades of Blue since 2016. A modern romantic comedy starring J.Lo is way overdue.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on YouTube

As if she wasn't perfect enough already, it turns out that J.Lo loves This Is Us just as much as everyone else, too. In fact, she's so into it, she demanded one of the stars fill a key role in her upcoming film, Second Act. Have you guessed which one? Probably, as it's ultimate hunk Milo Ventimiglia. Lopez reportedly loved him so much as Jack Pearson, she insisted he get the role.

"There was only one person I ever saw, and it was Milo ... And watching him play a dad, I was like, 'Ugh, oh, my god,'" she told Fallon.

Seriously, they didn't even audition anyone else for it at J.Lo's behest; they just gave the role to Ventimiglia. And honestly? Audiences should be thanking her for it. It might have been weird to see Ventimiglia in the role of hot dad at first, but he took to it like Jess Mariano took to issues of Punk Planet on Gilmore Girls. And now, finally, Ventimiglia has a role in the big-budget rom-com he's always deserved.


The Golden Age of Romantic Comedies is definitely back in full-force. It seems as if almost every week, Netflix drops a smart, fresh twist on the classic, while J.Lo is obviously about to bring her magic to the big screen in full force.

Also: It rules to hear someone as rich and powerful and important as J.Lo preaching the importance of rom-coms. In an era where this or that comic book universe tends to dominate the box office (and headlines), it's so refreshing to be reminded that hey, romantic comedies matter, too! Especially ones that star Lopez and Ventimiglia.