Ever have one of those days where everything goes sideways? Not just "spilled coffee on your shirt" sideways, but "my car broke down in a desert town full of lunatics and now I'm being hired to kill someone's wife" sideways. That's the vibe of the 1997 flick U Turn.
Most people remember Jennifer Lopez for the glitz, the Vegas residencies, and those fluffy rom-coms where she plays a wedding planner or a maid in a fancy hotel. But before the "J.Lo" brand became a global superpower, there was a gritty, sweat-soaked version of Lopez that doesn't get nearly enough credit.
In U Turn, Jennifer Lopez plays Grace McKenna. Honestly, she's a revelation here. Directed by the ever-polarizing Oliver Stone, the movie is a fever dream of neon colors, Dutch angles, and enough grit to make you want to take a shower.
The Performance Nobody Expected
By 1997, Jennifer Lopez was already a star on the rise. She had just crushed it in Selena, proving she had the dramatic chops to lead a major biopic. But while Selena was wholesome and heartbreaking, U Turn was just... nasty.
Grace McKenna isn't your typical damsel. She’s a femme fatale in a sun-bleached orange dress, trapped in the literal and metaphorical heat of Superior, Arizona. She’s married to Jake (played with terrifying intensity by Nick Nolte), a man who is—brace yourself—actually her father. Yeah. Stone went there. It’s a dark, twisted layer that adds a level of desperation to Grace’s character that most critics at the time missed because they were too busy complaining about the movie's "MTV-style" editing.
Lopez holds her own against a cast of heavy hitters. We're talking Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, and Billy Bob Thornton.
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Penn plays Bobby Cooper, a drifter with a debt to some very bad people. When his Mustang blows a radiator hose, he gets stuck in Superior. He meets Grace. He thinks he’s the predator, but in this town, everyone is prey. Lopez plays Grace with a "hot-and-cold" energy that keeps Bobby (and the audience) constantly off-balance. One minute she’s a victim; the next, she’s a cold-blooded strategist.
Why U Turn Jennifer Lopez Deserves a Second Look
If you look at the reviews from '97, they were... mixed, to put it politely. Roger Ebert gave it a measly 1.5 stars. He thought the characters were driven by the plot rather than their own needs.
But looking back now? The movie feels ahead of its time. It’s a neo-noir western that leans into the "absurdist comedy" of human greed.
Basically, the plot is a circle of betrayal.
- Jake wants Bobby to kill Grace.
- Grace wants Bobby to kill Jake.
- The local Sheriff (Powers Boothe) is sleeping with Grace and has his own agenda.
It’s a mess. A glorious, bloody mess.
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What’s interesting is how Lopez uses her sensuality. In her later career, her beauty often felt like a polished product. In U Turn, it’s a weapon. She uses it to manipulate Penn’s character, but there’s a flicker of real trauma behind her eyes. When she tells Bobby about her mother’s "suicide" at the bottom of a cliff, you actually believe her pain, even if you don't trust her intentions.
The Stylistic Overload
Oliver Stone was coming off Natural Born Killers, and he brought that same "acid trip" energy to the desert. The cinematography by Robert Richardson is blinding. You can almost feel the 110-degree heat radiating off the screen.
Some people find the editing annoying. It's fast. It's jumpy. It uses different film stocks. But for this story, it works. It mirrors Bobby’s rising panic. He’s a guy who just wants to get his car fixed and leave, but the town of Superior won't let him go.
The "J.Lo" Pivot
Shortly after U Turn, Lopez starred in Out of Sight with George Clooney. That movie is widely considered her best work, and for good reason—the chemistry is electric. But U Turn was the bridge. It was the role that proved she could handle "ugly" material.
She wasn't just a "Fly Girl" or a pop star in the making. She was a serious actress who could stand toe-to-toe with Sean Penn and not get overshadowed.
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Honestly, it’s a shame she didn't do more roles like this. The industry eventually pushed her into the "America’s Sweetheart" lane, which paid the bills but maybe didn't challenge her as much as Grace McKenna did.
Practical Takeaways for Movie Buffs
If you're going to revisit U Turn, keep a few things in mind to actually enjoy it:
- Forget the Rom-Com J.Lo: Wipe your brain of The Wedding Planner. This is a different beast entirely.
- Watch the Background: The town is filled with cameos. Joaquin Phoenix is hilarious as a jealous, hot-headed punk named TNT.
- Check the Score: It’s by the legendary Ennio Morricone. It sounds like a spaghetti western gone wrong.
- Expect Nihilism: Don't look for a "hero." There aren't any. Every single person in this movie is at least 40% terrible.
The ending is a gut-punch. It involves a cliff, a bag of money, and a final act of betrayal that feels inevitable. It’s not a happy ending. It’s a "U Turn" back to the beginning—a cycle of violence that can't be broken.
If you want to see a masterclass in 90s grit and a version of Jennifer Lopez that the modern PR machine has largely buried, track down a copy of this movie. It’s worth the two hours of desert madness.
To dive deeper into this era of film, your next step should be watching Out of Sight (1998) immediately after. It provides the perfect contrast to Lopez’s performance in U Turn and showcases her evolution into a leading lady who could carry a film with both grace and grit.