Enough

A woman falls in love, marries the perfect guy, has a kid with him but ultimately comes to realize that the man is psycho as well as a physical and mental abuser. Recognizing that no other recourse is plausible, the woman nabs her child and disappears. Unfortunately, Mr. Right is also rich off his ass and finds her no matter where she goes. What to do, what to do? Well, the woman in this tale has just about had enough! Get it? Enough…like the title of the movie? Aaaaaaaaaanyway, clichés ensue as Lopez readies to kick butt.

Every year, there are a couple of movies that aren’t very good in an all-around way, but somehow, someway, allow you to enjoy them on some other twisted, perverted, cheesy level. ENOUGH is a guilty pleasure through and through, and even though its story is quite preposterous, includes umpteen plot holes, leaves many character points dangling and telegraphs its script from letter A to Z (yeah, the trailer which gave away every single move also didn’t help), it someway, somehow actually managed to keep me interested in that very odd way. I will, however, admit that the final 15 minutes of the flick, which basically features the mano-a-womano confrontation between Lopez and her hubby, is a fun time ass-kicker. I was thoroughly entertained by that entire sequence. Other times in the movie, I’d find myself laughing at the obviousness of it all, while simultaneously…enjoying myself? Believe you me, I’m as confused as you are about this. I mean, this film should just have been called DOUBLE JEOPARDY: SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY STARRING JENNIFER LOPEZ, so that people would know exactly what it was: a vengeful tale of a woman who has basically had…yeah, I’m gonna say it…ENOUGH! I only wish that the campy level of the film had been entirely achieved by Lopez herself uttering that fateful word in the movie, but alas, t’was not to be (“You know Mitch…I’ve had enough, beeyatch!”).

I also have to admit that the kid in the movie was adorable, Lopez looked pretty damn cute in her short, flip haircut, Noah Wyle became my hero after this movie (good for you, dude…going against type and making it happen-nice!) and the husband, Billy Campbell, boy-o-boy, what a creepazoid. I only wish I’d had the chance to beat the bastard silly before Lopez mounted her own kung-fu attack. What’s bad about the movie? Well, there are quite a few things if you think about it too much afterwards, but thankfully the frivolous nature of the flick prevents you from remembering most of it minutes after you leave the theater. I did remember some though. There were these extremely tacky insert cards between some scenes, which sucked but thankfully disappeared. There were many characters who came into the story as vehicles to plot points and were never brought back into the tale (the father comes to mind-a man who wanted nothing to do with his daughter one minute, and the next, suddenly turns into “Pop of the Year”??). There was also a hilarious scenario of Lopez training “a la Rocky” for about as long as you see in the trailer, after which she suddenly turns into a super-spy of some sort. And there wasn’t enough background or reasoning given to why her husband suddenly turned into this grade “A” asshole (other than the fact that…well, am I to assume…all men just suck!?) It’s one thing to show us that he’s a complete nutball, but it’s another for us to understand or appreciate why he’s like that, so that we can believe it more. I also didn’t really get why he wouldn’t let her go. He “claimed” to love her, but he didn’t really show it or seem to believe it himself.

Anyway, there are many other holes that you could stick through this paper-thin plotline, but that’s the easy part. It’s obviously a clichéd rehash of many other “woman fighting back” flicks before it, but for what it is, it does what is does (now there’s a gung-ho recommendation if I ever read one!). I also love how Lopez’s character is referred to as “Slim” throughout the entire movie…not sure if that was a joke or not, but I thought it was pretty funny (especially how people kept repeating it over and over). But, when all was said and done, I gotta admit that I felt pretty good, had a smile on my face (still not sure if it was because they movie blew or not though) and I got to see Jennifer Lopez kick some arse in a tight, black leotard, and I guess that’s worth something in itself. Don’t see this movie expecting anything original or tightly wound, because it doesn’t deliver in those departments. The film gives you exactly what you’d expect from its trailer, and does offer some basic entertainment value, if you’re not hard up on anything mind-blowing. The final battle is also a doozy, and even though Lopez doesn’t bring her greatest acting chops to the piece, she is perfectly cast for this role, and I’m curious to see how many people are going to see the flick and have some ideas of their own afterwards (not sure if that’s a good thing or not-you decide!). Much like in JOHN Q. earlier this year, this baby gives its lead character the power to take the law into her own hands, and that’s always a questionable action. Anyhoo, see it drunk with some friends and you might just have a blast, or see it with your girlfriend, but remember to cover your nuts on the way out…it could get ugly!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian