Revisting ‘Gigli’ 20 Years Later: When J. Lo Met Ben Affleck, It Heralded the Moment That Tabloid Voyeurism Replaced Movie Stardom
Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticIf the on-and-off-and-[big pause!]-on-again love story of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were a dramatic television series (and let’s be clear, it is, even if it also happens to be real), the fact that it has now been relaunched with the two of them getting married over the weekend in Las Vegas is simply beyond perfect. It’s like the new season of some paparazzi-movie-star version of “And Just Like That” kicking off in that overly on-the-nose way that is part of what makes that show such delectable comfort food. But then, who would expect anything less from Ben and J.Lo, the first brand-name celebrity couple to be fused, by us, into one name? Ah, Bennifer! The very sound of it can provoke a swoon of nostalgia for the early 2000s, when these two ruled the tabloids as no one had before.