Her talent was real. Her résumé was not.
2018-11-22
$16.0M
103 min
Value Shop assistant manager Maya Vargas wants only one thing for her 43rd birthday -- a promotion. While her résumé may not scream upper management, her track record certainly does; she is an innovator who listens to her customers and delivers results. When she loses the job to a college-educated candidate, Maya sets out to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as book smarts -- and it's never too late for a second act.
While the story is predictable and inconsistent, the final product is enjoyable, focusing on family over stereotypical rom-com romance.
Second Act was billed as sort of a rom-com, but that isn't very accurate. While a comedy, Second Act focuses on the story of a sharp woman without traditional credentials that learns to find success by being true to herself. The story is inconsistent, but there are plenty of funny moments throughout, particularly when the Monday Moms are on screen. The film's best part is Jennifer Lopez's character finding and reuniting with her long-lost daughter, whom she had to give up for adoption as a young teen. The supporting cast of quirky characters is entertaining too. But the lead character makes some dishonest decisions and lies to her loved ones repeatedly, making the viewer feel conflicted about rooting for her. Ultimately, Second Act gets distracted from its own story making the ending feel haphazard, stitched together, and uninspired. Still, a comedy not wrapped up in romance but a mother/daughter relationship is a nice change of pace.
