The Back-Up Plan (2010): A Heartfelt Rom-Com with Depth
Jennifer Lopez leads the story as Zoe, a determined woman who opts for artificial insemination after a string of failed relationships. Lopez's portrayal adds depth and warmth to Zoe

Critically-acclaimed playwright James Ijames reinvents Shakespeare’s masterpiece with his new drama, FAT HAM. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.
Jennifer Lopez leads the story as Zoe, a determined woman who opts for artificial insemination after a string of failed relationships. Lopez's portrayal adds depth and warmth to Zoe
The Magician's Elephant has a strong multicultural cast and a heartwarming story about bringing two long-lost siblings back together
Netflix's Afterlife of the Party might fall into the rom-com genre, but it's much more about grief, strong female friendships, and platonic love than it is about romance.
Written and directed by Eva Victor, who also plays Agnes, the main character, Sorry, Baby is slow and artsy, but extremely effective. It shows how the trauma developed after a sexual assault has a ripple effect and loudly echoes in the victim and her life for years after.
Set in a future dystopian United States in which water is running out, Julia Hart’s Fast Color (2018) is a refreshingly different take on the superhero film.
If the message here is that without a support system, grieving people turn into monsters, it’s not really well-delivered and may be flawed as a message itself.