Forgotten JLo Rom-Com Lands on Netflix's Top 10 Despite 17% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Summary

• Netflix users have flocked to the 14-year-old comedy starring JLo.
• It has become one of the most watched movies on Netflix in recent weeks.
• At the same time, it has received low scores from critics and viewers on review aggregators.

Netflix never ceases to amaze, as yet another half-forgotten movie has come out of nowhere to garner impressive ratings. Of course, it's not uncommon for the streaming service to include purchased movies and TV shows in its lists of the most-watched on the platform, but the reasons for this sometimes defy logical explanation, as it's often a matter of pure coincidence.

And now Netflix has released another data regarding the most watched movies in its library, surprising many users by showing that the top positions were occupied not only by Netflix novelties like Damsel with Millie Bobby Brown, but also by movies from 10 years ago or more. One of them was a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin that, despite moderate commercial success, received poor reviews from critics. So let's take a look at one of the most critically panned movies with JLo that gained popularity on Netflix.

A Mildly Entertaining Rom-Com Starring Jlo

The romantic comedy in question is 2010's The Back-up Plan, which marked the feature film debut of television producer and director Alan Poul. The story stars Jennifer Lopez as a young woman Zoe, who is so disillusioned with men that she decides to undergo artificial insemination in order to raise a child on her own. But according to all the rules of rom-coms, the story doesn't end there, and thus the protagonist meets Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), who by all parameters is the man of her dreams. But will Stan want to have children, and especially not his own?

In addition to Lopez and O'Loughlin, the film features Michaela Watkins, Melissa McCarthy, Danneel Harris, Linda Lavin, Eric Christian Olsen, and even briefly featured Anthony Anderson in a small supporting role. Released in April 2010, the film was a modest commercial success, grossing $77.5 million worldwide against a budget of $35 million. Only the commercial success was clearly due to the fact that The Back-up Plan starred JLo, as critical and audience reviews were pretty disappointing.

The Movie Critics Despise

For Jennifer Lopez, the role in The Back-up Plan was her first acting role after a three-year hiatus, but unfortunately it was not particularly successful, as it is one of the most critically panned movies of her career. The reason for this is not her acting, but the movie itself. On Rotten Tomatoes, for example, the critics' score is a measly 17%. Ordinary viewers were a little less harsh, although this did not give the movie more 'freshness' — the audience rating is 46%.

Most criticized the quality of the script, which was not only formulaic, but utterly bland, offering an uninspired story and not very funny jokes (such as mocking women giving birth). Many also noted that while JLo and O'Loughlin had chemistry, the latter's character was completely insufferable.

One of the Top Movies on Netflix in Recent Weeks

For the week of March 11-17, 2024, the film entered the Global Top 10, beating out Ford vs. Ferrari and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (though we'll give the latter, a Top 10 veteran, credit for holding the spot for 13 weeks), with a total of 6 million viewing hours for the week.

Ratings for the Lopez-starring movie began climbing a week earlier, on March 9. According to What's on Netflix, it jumped to #18 in the global Top 25, as well as the Top 10s in Australia and New Zealand. The following week, it also held top positions in various countries, including Brazil and Mexico, in addition to the two countries mentioned above. The movie's final regional peak came on March 22, again in Australia.