10 Best Acting Performances By Musicians

There's no use sugarcoating it – Jennifer Lopez has been involved in some bad films. Monster In Law was a critical flop, and Gigli was just... weird (proper weird). Indeed, J-Lo's acting career is often used as something of a punchline, and if you take a look at her filmography, you can kind of see why. The exception? Stephen Soderbergh's Out Of Sight.

Taking on a challenge as a fiery U.S Marshal, Lopez is tasked with creating a believably hard nosed persona, while keeping the tone cool and frothy in fitting with the Elmore Leonard source material. In parts tough and playful, Lopez excels as Karen Sisco – she's given a complex character and a lot of screen time to fill, and she's more than a match for the task. Most importantly, though, she works tremendously well with co-star George Clooney, in one of his smoothest roles as glib (i.e George Clooney-esque) bank robber Jack Foley. It is the chemistry between the two leads that makes the film so memorable – the scene in which they're crammed inside a car boot together is pretty much the first clip you'd show to actors to define “spark”.

The impact of her Out Of Sight performance may have been mitigated by roles past and future, as well as the tabloids' continual fascination with Jenny From The Block, but here, Lopez clearly shows that she's got it. Perhaps the biggest compliment, or to be unkind surprise, is that at no point does she dine out on her fame during this film.

She fully inhabits the role, and contributes towards Out Of Sight being one of the premium post-Tarantino '90s thrillers.