While Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s tabloid-laden romance began after they met on the set of Gigli, it also turned out to be a box office catastrophe upon its release in 2003. Although most fans purposefully avoid the notoriously terrible movie to focus on the memorable elements of “Bennifer’s” story, the film director still seems to regret his decision.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
During an interview, director Martin Brest recalled his abysmal movie Gigli and reflected upon its terrible reviews. Stating how the movie wrecked his career, Brest mentioned harboring regrets about his decision to take on the project.

Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck’s $75M box office disaster 

Hollywood’s most epic romance between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, which has been making headlines on a recent note, initially started after they met on the set of their 2003 movie Gigli. Interestingly, just like in the movie, even their romance faced a disturbing fate, as the duo separated and moved on with different partners.
Gigli (2003)
However, as the two got back and revived their romance after years, it’s time to look back at their 2003 movie that played a matchmaker for Bennifer. Although Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez sparked their relationship after years, it seems rather difficult for Gigli to earn fans’ appreciation, following its terrible reviews.
Affleck and Lopez in Gigli
The 2003 film narrating the story of a softhearted mobster (Affleck) and his love affair with a woman named Ricki (Lopez), was deemed abysmal despite the hype it created during production. While the movie primarily created buzz due to Affleck and Lopez’s romance, it was later slammed by critics following its release. Apparently, the film’s bland dialogue and outrageous plot are what ruined the movie, according to audiences.

Director Martin Brest Expressed His Regret Over Gigli 

As Gigli was supposed to carry on the hype of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s romance, it was also supposed to launch director Martin Brest’s career. Nonetheless, the movie turned out to be a complete disaster that jeopardized the filmmaker’s position in the industry and typically killed his career.

Martin Brest reflected upon his $75M movie
Thus, after decades, director Martin Brest reflected upon his 2003 project featuring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Commenting on the historically bad film, during an interview with Variety, Brest mentioned, “I refer to it as ‘the G movie.’ Probably the less said about it the better”.
“I literally don’t remember the movie that was released, because I wasn’t underneath it in the way I was under the hood of all my other movies. So it’s really a bloody mess that deserved its excoriation” Martin Brest confessed.
Martin Brest regrets making Gigli and takes complete blame
Despite having disagreements during production and claiming to have kept himself distant during editing, Martin Brest still took the blame for the terrible fate of Gigli, as he didn’t quit. “In the end, I was left with two choices: quit or be complicit in the mangling of the movie. To my eternal regret, I didn’t quit, so I bear responsibility for a ghastly cadaver of a movie.” Brest shared.

Therefore, taking full responsibility for the bad reviews and the box office catastrophe, Martin Brest wished to forget about his career’s biggest regret.

Watch Gigli on Amazon Video.