Of course, Ben Affleck is no stranger to appearing in a J. Lo video—most famously having done so in 2002’s indelible “Jenny from the Block.” But it seemed the visuals for that were all too much, too soon…in addition to being laid on way too thick (no bodily innuendo intended). Perhaps it took the passage of twenty years for Bennifer to fully mature into a couple that could engage in something like… subtlety.
Which is precisely why the video for the ballad version (that also appears on the soundtrack) of Marry Me’s eponymous lead single only “mildly” features a cameo from Ben… even if his essence is all over the lyrics. Not just of this song, but most of the ones included on the tailored-to-the-film soundtrack. A fact spelled out during the concert tie-in special for the movie, Marry Me Tonight! Jennifer Lopez and Maluma Live, when J. Lo took the stage for a medley of “Love of My Life” and “Time After Time” and introduced the performance with the extremely Affleck-alluding sentiments, “This movie is personal for me. These songs are personal for me. And this moment is very personal. This came out of my own experience. The journey to the love of your life. Sometimes it has its ups and downs… unexpected twists and turns. But what I’ve learned is that you have to find yourself before you can find that person [and here she gets purposefully misty-eyed] who’s gonna complete the picture.” All unapologetically maudlin feelings expressed in another single from the Marry Me Soundtrack, “On My Way,” which gets referenced in its own way via certain visuals in Lopez’s latest video, which starts with a close-up on a spiky high heel, then a framed photo of J. Lo a.k.a. “Kat Valdez,” then a fur coat (or is it a blanket?) that looks like something out of Ramona from Hustlers’ closet.
All of these things, apparently, are meant to encapsulate the sentiment: marry me. Each item is “strategically” (except totally randomly) shown just before a sleeping J. Lo “casually” opens her eyes in that faux “I woke up like this” sort of manner. Then, like we see Kat do in the movie itself, J. Lo appears at the piano, fingering some keys in that “waiting to be struck by inspiration” fashion that mimics the scene in Marry Me when Kat “spontaneously” comes up with the melody and lyrics for “On My Way,” another song for which Lopez has created multiple versions and videos to keep this promo train moving. And, apart from the remix by TELYKast that comes with a play on John Hughes’ Weird Science, there’s another video in particular that was “reinvented” by Affleck himself in time for a saccharine Valentine’s Day gift for J. Lo.
It commences with a title card that reads: “On My Way 2/14/22 The Remix” before Affleck then presents Lopez’s fans with a clip show interspersed with “vintage” (circa Good Will Hunting) scenes of himself mixed in with the original visuals of J. Lo in “On My Way”—which doesn’t exactly make for an actual “remix” by sonic terms. We then get some throwback photos of a young Jenny from the block before Affleck is bold enough to remind us of Gigli’s existence with a few scenes from that thrown in as well. Then there are some red-carpet snaps from ‘03, in addition to “key moments” from “Jenny from the Block” itself (including that scene where Affleck lifts her up in the water to showcase her once seemingly large arse… before the likes of Nicki Minaj came along). Following that, there’s some footage of Affleck “goofing around” a.k.a. dancing in the most embarrassing way possible, until, finally, the video concludes with the declaration, “My Valentine.” Almost as promotionally well-timed for the holiday as Marry Me itself.
And with Lopez announcing, “Every heartbreak was a yellow brick road/Pointing me straight, just takin’ me home” throughout “On My Way,” the additional urging to “marry me, marry me, say yes” in a ballad form doesn’t feel like much of a stretch for these unapologetic “lovebirds”—who seem to be acting as our tamer, present-day version of Pam and Tommy with their no holds barred displays of aff(l)ec(k)tion for one another. Which is why Ben—faceless in the video—jumps on top of her in bed and cuddles up in between “essential” shots of J. Lo promoting her bling cup for the camera. Oh, and Maluma appears once in a while, too, namely during some of the time when the two were in the studio rehearsing together.
Apart from that, it seems as though Lopez wants to replace Maluma’s top billing for Marry Me with Affleck’s (and also: Owen who?). And that’s fine… because Affleck has definitely been in worse movies than this one, so no harm done. Unless, that is, one is highly sensitive to excessively cornball displays.
