First, there was “Jenny from the Block,” then “J-Lo the Fly Girl” onIn Living Color, followed by a long film career beginning in the early 90s. Right out of the shoot in her silver screen career,Jennifer Lopezdelivered many widely seen movies, includingMoney Train,Anaconda, and a relative breakout as Tejano sensation Selena in the eponymously named tragic biopic. During this period, as her star was on the rise, she did some of her best work in a film byOliver Stone, one of the most acclaimed directors of the time, coming off controversial projects likeJFKandNatural Born Killers.InU-Turn, she was in the lead female role alongside several A-listers likeSean Penn,Billy Bob Thornton,Nick Nolte,Joaquin Phoenix,Claire Danes,Jon Voight, andPowers Boothe. Based on the novelStray DogsbyJohn Ridley, it was the first film in which she would take on the essential femme fatale, allowing her to spread her wings as a sensual performer in a way we had yet to see on screen.
What Is ‘U Turn’ About?
Bobby Cooper (Penn) is a down-on-his-luck drifter whose car breaks down in a small desert town about an hour outside Phoenix, Arizona, in a small town called Superior. When he realizes that the sleazy local mechanic, Darrell (Thornton), will make it difficult for him to have his car promptly repaired, he heads into town. That is when he encounters the troublesome locals, including a beautiful young married woman. Lopez plays Grace McKenna, andshe immediately proves to be too much of a temptationfor Bobby.
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After a short and tawdry game of cat and mouse, Grace’s wily feminine allure lands the two in a physical relationship. The problem is that she is married to Jake (Nolte), an influential local who catches the two in the act.What happens after that is a duplicitous scheme by both Grace and Jake to get Bobby to kill the other for cash. Bobby is hard up and owes an L.A. gangster $30 large, so he entertains both proposals and must decide which of the two will actually let him walk away after the deed is done. Bobby’s luck goes from bad to worse as he just wants his car back to escape this bizarre Arizona town.
J-Lo Shines as the Pivotal Player Holding All the Cards in ‘U Turn’
J-Lo has been a sex symbol for 35 years. But, until Stone tabbed her to play Grace inU-Turn, she had yet to have a part written for her where she was the subject of every man’s physical desire. Stone uses a similar grainy jump-cutting style that he applied so deftly inNatural Born Killersand makesLopez a scheming and wanton woman who isn’t afraid to use her sensuality to her advantage. By the end of the film, every male character has made a plan to save her from her predicament.
Lopez completely embraces the Hollywood femme fatale template, constantly flaunting her physical attributes as a devious means to an end. But it isn’t just a “look pretty on screen” type of performance. She is compelling and calculating, drawing each man into her web of desire and money to the point that she juggles three separate lovers simultaneously. J-Lo is a gifted performer, and we are reminded of that inU-Turn.She is like a siren who appears like a damsel in distress but holds all the cards and plays each slap-dash suitor against the other.
Why Didn’t Anyone See J-Lo’s ‘U Turn’?
This is a question that isn’t quickly answered. The film only managed tocobble $6 million in its summer of 1997 releasedespite J-Lo, who was amid a meteoric rise in the industry, and names like Penn, Nolte, Phoenix, Thornton, and Danes attached. It definitely doesn’t fall at the feet of Lopez, who took full advantage of the opportunity toleave the girl boss rolesbehind and move on to the more nuanced and layered Grace McKenna in what we (along with Stone) thought would be her coming out party. It is highly possible that moviegoershadn’t responded toNatural Born Killersas well as expectedbecause of the gratuitous gore and didn’t trust the director at the time. As it turns out, the following year,In Plain Sight,oppositeGeorge Clooney,audiences began to view the dynamic performer as a versatile and bankable star.
U Turnis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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