The Reel Me Review

07/13/2005 7:52 AM, AMG


The title of The Reel Me is another of J-Lo's intentionally baffling misleading titles, but unlike the bewildering This Is Me... Then -- a title perfectly suited for a compilation, but released as a new album -- this is a little easier to figure out. The Reel Me collects all of Lopez's music videos, from On the 6 to This Is Me, interspersed with interviews with the diva as she reminiscences about her life and career (these interviews are inaccurately called commentaries on the DVD menus and publicity stickers; there is no audio commentary on this DVD). If this were a straight-up DVD, this title wouldn't be quite so confusing, but since it was released in the era of multiple repackagings, this is available as a DVD with a bonus EP (packaged in a keepcase) and a EP with a bonus DVD (packaged in a digipak). In either format the EP is forgettable, filled with passable remixes of singles from the This Is Me that all fall short of being interesting, but the DVD is excellent, containing all of Lopez's videos and including a good 5.1 mix as well. While the interviews are all promo puff pieces, they can be amusing, and are fun to watch once. But the real reason to get this is for that collection of videos, which were among the best of the dance-pop renaissance of the early 2000s. They'll likely be repackaged again, but any repackage will likely use this as the standard to beat. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide