Movie Review: 'Second Act'

We human beings often don’t get it right the first time around; a fortunate few have the opportunity to do things better during a second act. Maja (Jennifer Lopez) did not finish high school but later managed to earn her GED. Things stood in the way of her earning a college degree.

However, she managed to land a job in a “big box” discount store. The two things Maja did right the first time was to find a man, Trey (Milo Ventimiglia), who loves her as she is and connect with a best buddy Joan (Leah Rimini), who pushes her to do better.

At the encouragement of her two advocates, Maja applies for a promotion at work. She has many new, fresh ideas for increasing sales and profits at the store – grounds enough for advancing her career. Regardless of her brilliant ideas, without an education beyond a GED, she is turned down and the job goes to a college graduate.

At her surprise birthday party later that day, Maja is asked to make a wish and blow out the lone candle stuck into a piece of cake. She fumbles around to best express her wish and finally sputters something about improving her life, work and so on. She makes the wish in front of Joan’s computer savvy son.

Much to her surprise, she receives a note at work summoning her to the executive floor of a high-rise building in Manhattan. With no idea for the reason for the note, she dresses as fashionably as she can, and takes the subway to her appointment.

She is escorted into the offices of the CEO Anderson Clarke (Treat Williams), who expresses his interest in hiring her as a consultant to his cosmetics firm. She is puzzled. He goes on to add that with her stunning resume - Warton and Harvard grad, time in the Peace Core, mountaineering, championship rowing and her command of Mandarin Chinese, she is a perfect fit for the job.

She leaves the interview even more confused. Things don’t get any less baffling when she is offered the job, given a lavish corporate apartment and credit cards for all the fashionable stores in New York. Trey has left her, but Joan is sticking like gum on a shoe.

During her first days at work she reluctantly, having no idea what she is doing, enters into competition with a younger female executive to create a new product that is both cost-effective and “green.” Now she has more to be concerned about: from where did my resume come, how did I get this job and what new product can I create to win the competition?

That naughty boy! Joan’s computer-wiz son created her resume – her birthday wish was for a better life, wasn’t it? Joan comes to her rescue again when Maja is invited to a dinner with an important client from China. Her boss reminds her, “You do speak Mandarin, don’t you?”

Maja begins to realize that she can’t keep up with the lies. For both practical and moral reasons, sometime soon, she must confess to the web of untruths in which she has been wrapped. She has one remaining opportunity to solve this dilemma – can she do it?

Second Act is directed by Peter Segal (credits: Grudge Match, Get Smart), runs for 103 Minutes and is a “must see” movie.

johan@beachcomber.news