In 2012, Jennifer Lopez set off on her first ever world tour. For six months, she traveled across five continents and performed in 65 cities, starting in South America and finishing in Puerto Rico. While you might expect this to be a concert DVD, it was really a documentary about all the behind-the-scenes interactions that happened during the tour. There was some concert footage, but only to illustrate what was being discussed during the interviews and to show the different venues and crowds that they encountered. Even then, none of the songs were performed in their entirety or without considerable interruption in the middle of the performance. This could certainly put some viewers off as they are expecting to see a full concert. But any real fan probably already saw this documentary on HBO a couple of years ago.
It’s hard to believe that as long as Lopez has been around that she had never done a world tour. From watching the interviews, she mentions that one of the reasons that she decided to venture out on this undertaking was to prove that she was capable of doing it. But as she would find out, completing a world tour was a lot harder than she expected. Some of the challenges she faced along the way were: being a parent to her two children that came along with her, having a dancer quit in the middle of the tour, being sick for ten days, weather in outdoor arenas, and some of the more conservative values and rules in countries that she visited.
While the documentary does deal with a number of the technical aspects of performing such a large show, it also touches a lot more on her personal life, a side that the general public needs to see more of because she tends to be thought of as a diva. Fortunately for her, the time she spent judging on American Idol and this film go a long way to help her likeability factor. Not only does she talk about how she is afraid that she can’t sing like many critics have said about her, but she also discusses her sadness of leaving American Idol, and how hurtful her divorce from Marc Anthony was.
Even though the performances are limited, there’s still quite a bit devoted to the music. Not only do you get to see some of the mishaps, like the concert in the pouring rain, multiple wardrobe malfunctions, and her nearly falling off the front of the stage, but everything you see is extremely well choreographed and executed. And after hearing her voice, there is no longer any question about her singing ability.
If you’re a fan of Jennifer Lopez, then this is a DVD worth having. And even if you’re not a big fan, you should at least find it interesting to watch and different than most of the other music documentaries out there.
