Best Jennifer Lopez Movies

The new Jennifer Lopez movie Shotgun Wedding is generating some serious buzz—mostly because it’s her first feature film to premiere on a streaming service (Prime Video; Friday, January 20). The R-rated comedy, which also stars Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Coolidge, D’Arcy Carden, and . . . Lenny Kravitz? . . . is about a destination wedding where the party is literally taken hostage. Finally, a new rom-com twist.

Lopez has made over 40 movies since the ’80s—not to mention a stint as a Fly Girl on FOX’s In Living Color in the ’90s—but which are her best? We’ve narrowed it down to six of our J.Lo favorites, some you know and a couple you probably don’t. Spoiler: Gigli didn’t make the cut.

Best Jennifer Lopez movies

Marry Me (2022)

Lopez plays a pop superstar—not much of a stretch. When singer Kat Valdez (Lopez) learns that her fiancé has been cheating on her just as they’re about to exchange vows on live TV, she dumps him and marries crowd rando Charlie (Owen Wilson) instead. The pair work perfectly together (as they have before—more on that in a minute). Lopez also recorded a bangin’ soundtrack album for Marry Me.

Where to stream Marry Me

Hustlers (2019)

Not a rom-com, but a crime dramedy wherein Lopez leads a glittery crew of stripper thieves. Hustlers received some of the highest critical marks of Lopez’s career, mostly for the movie’s undercurrent message of female bonding and empowerment. A killer supporting cast didn’t hurt, either: Keke Palmer, Constance Wu, Lizzo, Cardi B, Lili Reinhart, Julia Stiles, and comic Big Jay Oakerson, perfectly cast as a strip-club DJ.

Where to stream Hustlers

Parker (2013)

Like jury duty, every A-list actress eventually gets called up for a Jason Statham flick. Parker, about a double-crossed thief (Statham) out for revenge against his team who wronged him, didn’t blow up the box office, but it’s a fun ride. That’s thanks to Lopez’s de-glammed comic relief as a divorcée real estate agent who gets caught up in Parker’s scheme. You know what you’re getting with a Statham movie, but Parker is a little different.

Where to stream Parker

The Wedding Planner (2001)

The Wedding Planner more or less set the tone for the early-2000s rom-com boom, and Lopez’s co-star list is like a murderer’s row of the genre, including Matthew McConaughey, Judy Greer, Kathy Najimy, and Fred Willard. The movie didn’t wow critics, and Lopez was even nominated for a Razzie Award for worst actress, but The Wedding Planner made $95 million at the box office—scoreboard! The story? Lopez is a lonely wedding planner. Easy.

Where to stream The Wedding Planner

Out of Sight (1998)

A Stephen Soderbergh film based on an Elmore Leonard novel starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez? It’s a match made in pulp-crime heaven. This darkly comic tale of a bank robber (Clooney) and his love affair with a U.S. Marshal (Lopez) made everyone take J.Lo seriously as an actress, and Out of Sight has been a cult favorite for over 30 years. Entertainment Weekly named it one of the “sexiest films ever,” if you’re into that.

Where to stream Out of Sight

Anaconda (1997)

Callback: Lopez and Owen Wilson first worked together on Anaconda, an action-horror movie set in the Amazon rainforest—it’s essentially Predator but with an oversized snake. Like Out of Sight, Anaconda has become a cult classic over the years, and J.Lo received her first acting award nomination (a sci-fi Saturn Award, but it still counts). Yes, the special effects suck, but Anaconda gave us Lopez in iconic action-heroine mode (and a thousand Ice Cube memes).

Where to stream Anaconda