‘Enough’ not good enough for J. Lo

In theaters

ENOUGH, directed by Michael Apted, written by Nicholas Kazan. 115 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Over the years, pop star Jennifer Lopez has commanded the world’s attention with a host of hit songs designed to shed light on the woman herself. According to her, she’s real, she’s “gonna be alright,” and if you can believe this, her love “don’t cost a thing.”

Her appeal – and the genius behind the marketing of her unattainable image – is that fans want to believe every word of it.

And why shouldn’t they? There’s no denying her talent. Lopez has had international hits in Spanish, she’s shrewdly ridden the remix bandwagon with Nas and Ja Rule, and she’s given memorable performances in three movies – “Selena,” “Out of Sight” and “The Cell.”

Recently, she’s had her share of stinkers with “Angel Eyes” and “The Wedding Planner,” but she’s never been as bad as Madonna at her worst – and, more impressively, she’s done something no one else has done in the history of pop culture: She’s successfully boiled down her name to something that sounds peculiarly like “Jello.”

Unfortunately, Michael Apted’s new movie, “Enough,” tosses J. Lo an anchor even she doesn’t have the moxie to carry. The film, from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan, is a cartoon revenge fantasy underscored with the very real issue of domestic violence.

In the film, Lopez is Slim, a street-smart waitress who falls for a dashing contractor named Mitch (Billy Campbell), marries him in a fairy tale wedding, bears his child and then literally takes it on the chin when she questions him about his infidelity.

As Mitch himself tells her time and again, he’s a man who always gets what he wants. In spite of having several women on the side, one of whom he calls his “little croissant,” he still wants Slim, who’s forced to flee with their daughter Gracie (Tessa Allen) so she can escape the blunt end of Mitch’s fist.

The problem? Kazan’s screenplay is a cheat that doesn’t offer her a way out. If Slim runs, Mitch will send in his thugs to track her down. If she goes to the police, he has enough money to buy his way to freedom. If she stays, she almost certainly will become Mitch’s punching bag.

What’s a girl to do? Naturally, learn kung fu.

In less than a month, Slim transforms herself from an insecure, abused wife to an iron woman who could enter “Smackdown” – and win. Her sole aim is to kill Mitch with her bare hands, which gives the film the crowd-pleasing ending it seeks, but which, in the process, turns everyone involved into a gross caricature who never take the subject of this film as seriously as they should.

Grade: C-

On video and DVD

(Tuesday, May 28)

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE, directed by Chris Columbus, written by Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. 153 minutes. Rated PG.

From the start, Chris Columbus’ “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” plunges audiences into a world so richly atmospheric its $125 million budget seems like the biggest bargain of last year.

Rising to the overwhelming task at hand, Columbus captures the tone of J.K. Rowling’s novel and brings it to life. That’s no small feat, but when you see the movie it’s clear how much the director toiled and worried over everything.

The work paid off. With the exception of Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, who was disposed of in the book but not in the movie, every major scene, defining moment and element seems to be here – the moving staircases, the towering trolls, the thrilling game of Quidditch and hidden Platform 93/4.

Given the film’s lengthy running time, moments feel a bit long in the wand. But considering the alternative – removing key scenes at the risk of disappointing the book’s more than 100 million fans – Columbus wisely respects Rowling’s vision and her much-publicized concerns that the movie mirror her words.

In case you’ve been living under a staircase yourself these past few years, the film is about an orphan named Harry who learns that he’s a wizard. Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry, and he’s tailor-made for the part, easily resembling the books’ illustrations and Rowling’s physical descriptions. But what’s more important is that he captures the essence of what makes Harry Harry – his anxieties and fears, his sense of wonder and sadness, his courage, naivete, humility and heart.

With newcomers Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson as Hermione, these three make an entertaining trio as they go about their adventures and try to keep the Sorcerer’s Stone out of the wrong hands. Their bond is one of the movie’s best assets, certainly the soul of the story, and it’s to Columbus’ great credit that their friendship doesn’t seem manufactured for the screen.

If that genuineness lifted the book, it also ignites the movie, a sequel of which, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” hits theaters in November.

Grade: B3/4

Christopher Smith’s reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, occasionally on E! Entertainment’s “E! News Weekend,” Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.