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El Cantante : Plenty of good music -- but too much Jennifer Lopez
There's a lot of music in El Cantante, director Leon Ichaso's biopic of the legendary Latin singer Héctor Lavoe, with Marc Anthony (who did his own singing) more than doing justice to Lavoe's insanely catchy, groundbreaking songs. It's whenever the music stops that the movie runs into trouble.
The story of Lavoe -- who left his native Puerto Rico in the 1960s and moved to New York, where he became part of the Nuyorican scene that spawned the salsa genre -- follows the sad template of too many other musicians' lives before and since: The overcoming of humble roots, the rush of success, the difficulty of balancing stardom with marriage and the substance abuse that came along with fame. The fact that the basic narrative of El Cantante, which was written by Ichaso, Todd Bello and David Darmstaedter, follows the same track as Walk the Line or Ray is not the fault of the filmmakers. It's the elements of Lavoe's life they have chosen to dwell on that make the movie such a relentless, hollow downer. There is too little of his rise and way too much of his fall, and the subtexts Ichaso works into the story -- the common immigrant experience of enduring racial prejudice in a new land or the anger of loved ones left behind at home -- aren't enough to keep the film from turning Lavoe's life into a gigantic showbiz cliché. There is also, more damagingly, the J.Lo factor: Jennifer Lopez produced the film and co-stars as Lavoe's wife Puchi, and she gets so much screen time that a more fitting title for the film would have been El Cantante's Wife. Lopez's performance is pitched at much too high a volume, and there is simply too much of her in the picture, especially an ill-conceived framing device in which Lopez, wearing unconvincing makeup designed to age her, is interviewed for a documentary about Lavoe's life. Anthony fares well during the plentiful concert sequences, which Ichaso shoots with tremendous style and energy, conveying the revolutionary power of Lavoe's music and the electricity he brought to his stage performances (he is also shrewd enough to provide English language subtitles for the Spanish-language lyrics). But Anthony's performance never gets past the surface of who Lavoe was as a man: For all the tragedy the character endures, you'd be hard-pressed to describe his personality with any specificity after the movie is over. El Cantante does contain fleeting moments of priceless camp, the best one coming early on, during a 1980s montage in which Lavoe and Puchi ride around New York City in a limo, spilling cocaine over themselves while Animotion's Obsession, the cheesiest of '80s anthems, blasts on the soundtrack. But as the film edges toward the two-hour mark, and the couple is having yet another of their screeching arguments, you can't help but wish El Cantante would shut up. Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, John Ortiz, Manny Perez, Vincent Laresca, Ismael Miranda. Director: Leon Ichaso. Screenwriters: Leon Ichaso, Todd Bello, David Darmstaedter. Producers: Julie Caro, Jennifer Lopez, Simon Fields. A Picturehouse release. Running time: 116 minutes. Vulgar language, sexual situations, drug use, adult themes. Playing at area theaters. Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Jennifer Lopez Pictures
I have updated the gallery with tons of pictures of Jennifer Lopez & Marc anthony at the premiere for El Cantante in LA, July 31st.
     Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are off-screen husband and wife and are icons in their own right. Now they are taking to the screen to portray the lives of salsa legend Hector Lavoe and his devoted wife, Puchi. Lopez, who started her career as a fly girl dancer on "In Living Color," actually co-produced the film. She said the project came to her about 5 1/2 years ago and she knew her husband would star as Lavoe. She didn't intend to play Puchi, but it became clear that the part fit her well. "I fell in love with the project as it went on," she told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "It's a very intense story. Once I got the director on and he started doing rewrites and we started talking about the movie, we got so excited about it. He was like, 'You have to play this part.' " When she did take on the role, Lopez found that it was her most challenging to date. But she loved it and loved working with her husband. "I knew he was a really good actor and I knew he was the right person to play this part," Lopez said. "But watching him do Hector was kind of — you know, I knew he would have the singing down and all that kind of stuff but the nuances and watching him work. He worked very differently than I do." Lopez says she likes to prepare and do a lot of research. She likes to know all her lines as well as everyone else's in the scene. Anthony, she says, slides into character. "He comes on set in character, talking the talk, walking the walk, very loose," Lopez said. "I'm waiting for that line, you know. He's getting there. It's fun. It was a very different (approach)." But working with him isn't new to Lopez. She says she met Anthony at work and it's always been easy for them. The only thing that's missing from the movie is Lopez herself singing. But she does dance. There are many scenes of her dancing on the side of the stage while Anthony sings. "Well, I think Puchi really enjoyed being with Hector, a lot for this reason, too," she said. "She saw what he could be. I think she zeroed in on him the minute she saw him. He was like her ticket to where she wanted to be, you know?" But people will get a chance to see Lopez sing when she and Anthony tour the United States together. "Since we've been married he's gone on tour twice, and I go with him every single time," Lopez said. "Usually he goes with one or two other acts. Across the United States. This year, you know, he was going to go. I had my two albums coming out. They're like, 'Why doesn't Jennifer' … They're like, 'Do you think Jennifer will do it?' I was like, absolutely. I never toured the United States. It will be my first time. I'm bringing my stage show. I'm really excited about it." "El Cantante" opens Friday, Aug. 3. Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Jennifer Lopez is dominating - Marc Anthony
Actor/singer Marc Anthony says his wife, the sultry Jennifer Lopez, likes to take the upper hand in their relationship. 'She's always been the boss,' Anthony was quoted as saying by contactmusic.com website.
The couple are set to tour together, their first ever outdoor performance, after Marc recently revealed that they made a vow to each other that they would avoid working separately. Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Jennifer Lopez offers advice to troubled stars
Jennifer Lopez has advised young stars to surround themselves with people who will keep them grounded. Following the recent reports of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan struggling to cope with life in the spotlight, Jennifer Lopez has spoken about how difficult fame can be.
"Nobody has a handbook for fame. It's no easy thing to deal with," Lopez explained in a joint interview with husband Marc Anthony. "You've got to have good people around you." Offering further advice to Hollywood's current crop of troubled stars, the singer added: "You want to be proud of yourself at the end of the day." singer-songwriter and actor, agreed with his wife's assessment: "I had people who kept me in line. I was fortunate in that way. Now it would seem that people's best interests are just to keep the star happy as long as the money is still coming in." Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Jennifer Lopez gets real scars during fight scenes with Marc Anthony
Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony were so convincing during the shooting of domestic violence scenes for new movie “El Cantante,” the actress has been left scarred for life by the fake fights.
Lopez and Anthony play husband and wife in the biopic of salsa singer Hector Lavoe, and J.Lo ended up hurting herself during one feisty fight sequence, Star Pulse informs. "I have scars, literally scars, from them (the fighting scenes). Hector (Anthony) wore a lot of rings, so when we started mixing it up in that scene... It wasn't written that I'd push him or touch him, but I just started pushing him and telling him to get out. Next thing you know, my hands were cut open. They were very intense scenes, but we knew it has to be real. We had no time to mess around," she said. Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Jennifer LOPEZ HAD NO WORRIES ABOUT WORKING WITH ANTHONY
JENNIFER LOPEZ had no qualms about working with husband MARC ANTHONY on new movie EL CANTANTE, despite the criticism she endured shooting 2003 flop GIGLI with then-boyfriend BEN AFFLECK. Lopez and Anthony play husband and wife in the biopic of salsa singer Hector Lavoe, but the actress, who also produces the film, insists she wanted to cast Anthony in the role long before they became romantically involved. She says, "When you do a project, you want to bring the best people together. "I got his script five years ago; Marc and I were not a couple at the time. But I knew he was the one to play Hector. I didn't even know that I would play Puchi (Hector's wife), I just knew that it was the first movie that I wanted to produce. "I called him immediately, and he was like, `Oh my God! He's my idol! Of course.'"
Posted on 04 Aug 2007
Pictures additions
I'm still working on catching up what I missed when I couldn't update the site. Check the gallery for pictures of Jennifer Lopez and her husband at the world premiere for 'El Cantante' and more :
    Posted on 30 Jul 2007
Rumour : Jennifer Lopez to be an aunt soon?
"Tiempos Del Mundo" recently reported that Jennifer Lopez's sister, Linda, is possibly pregnant. However, Linda refused to confirm the rumour, simply saying that she wouldn't talk about her personal life.
Posted on 30 Jul 2007
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