Jennifer Lopez' 'Hustlers' Performance Could Win Her an Oscar

The reviews for Jennifer Lopez' latest movie Hustlers are in, and they're pretty universally glowing, with J. Lo's performance singled out for particular praise (just when I thought my feverish anticipation for this movie couldn't get any more intense.) Critics were particularly entranced by her entrance, a pole routine to Fiona Apple's "Criminal," which J. Lo underwent a grueling training routine to perfect. Waking up to all that praise was a little overwhelming for the actor/singer/dancer, who told the Los Angeles Times, "It brings tears to your eyes."

"To wake up to that today was like, 'OK!'" she told the newspaper Sunday. "Obviously, I’m flattered. You work so hard your whole career...I’ve done so many movies and I’ve done so many roles that I’ve learned to not do it for anything except because I love doing it."

J. Lo doesn't do it for the awards, she explained. "Every movie that I sign onto and every role that I choose to play is really about me exploring being an artist, being an actor, loving life, loving people, and doing that thing. Having the opportunity to do that with my life is such a pleasure for me."

Still, it's hard not to get excited about a rapturous critical reception, J. Lo said. "It brings tears to your eyes because you're like, 'Oh! Somebody liked what I did!' I love doing this and it doesn’t matter, but it does matter—it does make you feel like, 'Wow, all my hard work is being recognized, and that’s nice.'"

By the way, about that pole routine: There was no way J. Lo was going to let Twitter cast aspersions on her performance. "When I go upside down, make sure you see my face so they know it’s me! Because I don’t want them to say, 'That was a double!'" she said. Honestly, can we just bring her that Oscar now?

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