Hustlers and the 10 greatest Jennifer Lopez movies of all time (so far)
By Reed Gaudens
10. The Cell
Original Release Date: The Cell hit theaters on Aug. 18, 2000.
Box Office Earnings: The film proved to be another early box office hit for Jennifer Lopez, brining in $104 million worldwide against a modest budget of $33 million.
Critical Acclaim: Despite a decent showing commercially, The Cell earned mixed critical reception. The film holds a middling 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though some critics praised the film for its visuals and challenging storytelling. The Cell earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup, while Lopez grabbed nominations for her performance from the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, MTV Movie Awards, and the Saturn Awards.
About the Role: Lopez stars in The Cell as Dr. Catherine Deane, a psychologist tasked with conducting a virtual reality treatment experiment for coma patients, which allows her to witness what’s going on in another person’s mind. Before long, she’s using the therapy on a serial killer and diving deep into the depths of his psyche. Dr. Deane must journey into the haunting recesses of the killer’s inner world to gain access to the key for his final victim, who still remains alive.
Simply the Best: The Cell might be one of the J. Lo movies that receives the least conversation or fanfare. We rewatch her romantic comedies all of the time on TV and streaming, but other standouts like El Cantante, Angel Eyes, and The Cell fall through the cracks. In the science fiction horror film, she delivers a memorable performance in a story full of extraordinary circumstances. She wears a dozen different looks and navigates the many complicated layers of her character. Twenty years later, the imperfect complexity of The Cell deserves a second look.