Jennifer Lopez is gearing up to live her dream this weekend when the musical adaptation, Kiss of the Spider Woman, finally hits screens. Lopez has mentioned on several occasions that she grew up on musicals and that being given a chance to participate in a film like this has been a long time coming. Due to her personal life taking up a majority of the headlines, it’s sometimes forgotten that Lopez is a legit triple threat. She’s an excellent actress, a capable singer, and an extraordinary dancer, which makes her one of the best entertainers working in the industry today.

For those who need a reminder ahead of her latest big screen excursion, here is a breakdown of her five best performances, which prove that more respect should be put on her name.

Honorable Mention: Marry Me (2022) as Kat Valdez

Lopez has been in her fair share of romantic comedies, and while The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan are certainly more popular, none of them show her charm more than 2022’s Marry Me. Directed by Kat Coiro from screenplay by John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill, Marry is based on a 2012 webcomic of the same name by Bobby Crosby and follows a popstar named Kat Valdez (Lopez) who decides to marry a math teacher named Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) because he’s carrying a “Marry Me” sign at her concert after she learns her fiance Bastian (Maluma) has been having an affair.

Interestingly, the most connected Lopez has been in one of her romantic comedies has had her playing into her very own superstar persona. Kat has had four failed marriages (something Lopez is no stranger to), and there’s no denying that as an entertainer, she’s larger than life.

Still, Lopez has an innate ability to exhibit an everywoman quality that makes her attainable in this kind of film. It also helps that she has a surprisingly effortless chemistry with Wilson, which also serves as a fun Anaconda reunion (they both starred in the 1997 creature feature). Throw in some catchy original songs courtesy of Lopez, and Marry Me is a surprising effort that deserved much more attention than it received. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its release was delayed, and it ended up premiering in theaters and streaming via Peacock simultaneously. The movie still pulled in an impressive $56.5 million globally on a $23 million budget, and critics are positive as well, but this is a Lopez rom-com that deserves to be mentioned among her more popular efforts.

5. The Cell (2000) as Dr. Catherine Deane

Twenty-five years later, despite being moderately successful at the box office, The Cell remains an underrated psychological thriller. Mixing in a bit of science fiction to frame its story with some eye-catching visuals, the Tarsem Singh-directed film is unique in its approach, and Lopez’s quietly understated performance remains a highlight. Written by Mark Protosevich, The Cell follows a team of scientists who use an experimental technology to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer (portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio) to find his latest victim. It would be easy to overlook Lopez’s performance here since the visuals and D’Onofrio’s performance are more flashy, but she’s instantly sympathetic as Dr. Catherine Deane, a woman who genuinely cares about her position as a child psychologist and is willing to bravely jump into a hostile and uncertain mind.

Where the story takes a turn, and where Lopez is at her best, is when she realizes that while in the killer’s mind, he has experienced his own traumas, and she admirably fights to make him confront them. Surprisingly, The Cell received a mixed critical response at the time of its release, but over the years, more have discovered that the movie was ahead of its time in many ways. It stands up as one of the better films and performances of Lopez’s career before she began to take on the J.Lo persona and began to pursue a music career.

4. An Unfinished Life (2005) as Jean Gilkyson

This little-seen film from director Lasse Hallström is another movie that deserves more eyes on it, as it’s another example of Lopez’s strength as a dramatic actress. Based on the novel of the same name by Mark Spragg, An Unfinished Life follows Einar Gilkyson (the late Robert Redford), a rough-around-the-edges rancher who has to reconcile with his estranged daughter-in-law Jean (Lopez), a single mother who shows up on his doorstep with a granddaughter he was unaware of. Jean’s life was turned upside down when her husband Griffin was killed in a car accident before he learned that she was pregnant, and now she’s struggling to get back to take care of herself and her daughter, while also running away from an abusive ex.

You’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of An Unfinished Life, as it came and went in 2005 with a $18.6 million global gross on a $30 million budget, but it’s a film that should be sought out in Lopez’s filmography. The actress sells the guilt and heartbreak of a life that hasn’t been fully realized, and it’s a testament to her chops as a dramatic actress, which are sometimes ignored. She hits emotional heights in some of the film’s grief-fueled scenes, and she more than holds her own alongside Redford and Morgan Freeman, who portrays Einar’s disabled friend. Oddly enough, following the passing of Redford, An Unfinished Life popped up frequently on social media as an underrated film from Redford’s catalog, while fans also expressed that it was a fine showcase for Lopez as well.

3. Out of Sight (1998) as Karen Sisco

Following breaking out in a big way in Selena, Lopez proved her leading lady status with the sexy and confident portrayal of Karen Sisco in Out of Sight, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Frank and based on the 1996 Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, Out of Sight is a crime comedy caper that follows Jack Foley (George Clooney), a man whose decision to rob banks for a living has landed him in prison. While trying to make a great escape from a Florida correctional facility, he finds himself sharing space in a trunk with Karen Sisco (Lopez), a U.S. Marshal who stumbles upon the prison break. The rest of the film sees both characters frequently encountering each other as Jack works towards a job with a big windfall, all while the mismatched pair’s chemistry keeps pulling them closer together.

If there were any naysayers out there, Lopez proved her high-wattage movie star potential with Out of Sight, a film that allowed her to play on her natural charisma as an actress while also getting to dabble in a bit of comedy. The film’s biggest selling point is the chemistry between her and Clooney, which is frequently on display but shines brightest during an encounter at a hotel bar that is intercut with their first romantic night together.

Their dialogue becomes a flirtatious verbal sparring and features both performers, who at the time were breaking out into major film projects, at their very best. Despite solid reviews (93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), the movie wasn’t a huge success (grossing $77.7 million worldwide on a $48 million budget), but it has endured over the years as one of Soderbergh’s best and a career highlight for Lopez.

2. Hustlers (2019) as Ramona Vega

Hustlers arrived at a time when Lopez really needed it. If anyone had forgotten that she’s a performer who could command the screen, the film was a staggering reminder of her abilities. Directed by Lorene Scafaria from a screenplay she also wrote, Hustlers is based on the 2015 New York Magazine article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler, which detailed New York City strippers drugging CEOs and stock traders during the hard times of the 2008 financial crisis. Lopez leads the crew as Ramona, who takes Constance Wu’s Destiny under her wing as they run up credit cards of the wealthy men who frequent their club. Hustlers allowed Lopez to have the meaty role that she had been lacking in the few years leading up to the film’s release, and she bites into it with relish.

Despite the film’s questionable subject matter, Lopez gave a nuanced performance as Ramona, portraying a woman who has found sound reasoning to do what the girls are doing as a means to get by. It’s a testament to her starpower but also her unrelenting talent, which breaks through and allows Hustlers to emerge as something more prestige, even though it has the illusion of being something more trashy.

The big travesty here is that despite considerable Oscar buzz for her performance and earning a Golden Globe and SAG Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the Academy snubbed Lopez, and it remains one of their biggest snubs to date. The snub highlighted that the industry may not take her completely seriously as a legitimate actress, but Hustlers, along with several other projects, prove that Lopez is one of the best to do it.

1. Selena (1997) as Selena Quintanilla-Perez

Lopez had appeared in film projects before Selena, but this defined her breakout moment. Directed by Gregory Nava from a screenplay he also wrote, Selena chronicles the life of its namesake, a popular Tejano singer who was on a meteoric rise to greatness and crossover stardom before it was all tragically cut short when she was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar at the very young age of 23. Selena personifies all of the elements that have proven to make Lopez a force to be reckoned with. It showcases her abilities as a performer and actress while also allowing her to present a softness and earnestness that allows Selena to feel alive again for her many fans.

She dazzles during the film’s musical numbers, which effortlessly recreate some of Selena’s signature performances, and, most importantly, she made the singer’s humanity and heart tangible for the audience. It’s the strength of Lopez’s performance that put the noise to rest about her casting when there was some outrage that, as a Puerto Rican, she was cast to portray the Mexican-American singer.

Once they saw Lopez’s performance, she won over the naysayers and the industry as a whole, proving that she would definitely be here to stay. Lopez received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her performance, and Nava has said that, while he wanted to launch an Oscar campaign for her, the studio wasn’t interested because they believed that she wouldn’t gain traction during awards season as a Latina actress. The industry has seemed to always underestimate Lopez, and maybe with Kiss of the Spider Woman, which has garnered her Oscar buzz once again, she’ll finally put that negativity to rest.

Kiss of the Spider Woman opens nationwide this Friday.

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