Jennifer Lopez stars in her first feature-length movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, arriving in theatres this Friday. The new adaptation is based on the 1976 novel and the Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical of the same name and is directed by Bill Condon.
The plot is simple. Two men of completely different backgrounds meet in prison and become friends after the softer of the two describes his favorite film. The famous actress, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez), is the main attraction in the film with a look and presence that demands attention. Vivid recounts and cheap conversation are a welcome distraction from their shared imprisonment, with freedom looking doubtful for the pair.
Valentín (Diego Luna) was a political prisoner in Argentina during a time of political turmoil. Luis (Tonatiuh), on the other hand, was imprisoned for public indecency. The overall arc of the two cellmates eventually falling in love is both flat and uninteresting. The best part about this subpar adaptation is J. Lo. The film is basically her coming-out party, celebrating her first feature-length movie musical, and hopefully, the first of many.
Some musical numbers were better than others, but the transitions between present-day prison and whimsical film flashback were beautiful. The film was a bit long (over two hours), and the ending didn’t match the climactic buildup. Let’s face it, the main appeal of this film was always going to be Jennifer Lopez. I’m just here to say that all of the hype for her appearance is well worth it.
J. Lo wasn’t just amazing, she was absolutely flawless. Costume designer Colleen Atwood nailed every one of J. Lo’s fits and played a major role in Lopez’s name being mentioned during awards season. Every dance number, song, and spicy bit of dialogue was enhanced by Lopez’s dazzling appearance. This role was made for her.
It’s not an adaptation that we needed or one that was heavily requested, but it was a stunning audition for J. Lo to hit the musical stage. The Latin flair made the uncomfortable moments digestible and the boring exchanges livelier. In short, this film is better because she’s in it. I was never a big fan of her acting, to be fair, so don’t take it lightly when I say she owns this performance.
Kiss of the Spider Woman gets a 6 out of 10. For all of the hype the film received earlier in the year, it just simply doesn’t meet expectations. The climactic build of two men falling for each other, ending in an inevitably aggressive sex scene, was poorly written and executed. While a mutual attraction was shown in the 70s film, nothing sexual was on-screen. This version felt like Condon and crew went overboard just because it’s 2025 and there’s more freedom to do so. Again, there’s nothing much to gain out of this film aside from J. Lo. After this, I’d prefer to see her on Broadway.
Kiss of the Spider Woman hits theaters on Friday, Oct. 10.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions
Genre: Musical
Rating: R
Runtime: 2hrs, 8 minutes
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: October 10, 2025