Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck will costar in two movies this year scheduled to be released just three months apart

NEWSWEEK, April 14 issue — Just in case you need more of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in your life, the couple will costar in two moviesthis year. Unfortunately, they’re scheduled to be released just three months apart, begging the obvious questions: Can they both make a profit? And is either any good?

AFFLECK AND LOPEZ fell in love last year while making “Gigli,” a dramatic comedy about gangsters. Directed by Martin Brest (whose previous outing, “Meet Joe Black,” flopped), the $54 million film began suffering from negative buzz last fall after test-screening audiences hated the ending, in which Affleck’s character (pronounced Jee-lee) died. Revolution Studios, which financed the film, forked over about $1 million for a three-day reshoot. Last week a test screening of the new version inspired a scathing review on the Ain’t It Cool News Web site—and a heated moment between Brest and Revolution head Joe Roth over the pace of the movie’s final 25 minutes. After a three-day standoff, Brest headed back to the editing room to tighten the final segment.

Meanwhile, Affleck and Lopez’s other project, the romantic drama “Jersey Girl,” had been basking in good early buzz. This sparked speculation that its director, Kevin Smith, had somehow planted the Ain’t It Cool review as sabotage. Those close to both projects describe this theory as “paranoid” and “ridiculous.” (Smith has been a close friend of Affleck’s since the two made “Chasing Amy” years ago, and even helped Affleck and Matt Damon get their “Good Will Hunting” script into Miramax’s hands.) What’s more, the fates of “Gigli” and “Jersey Girl” are actually tied together—if audiences balk at the first flick this summer, they may boycott the second film come fall. Revolution contends that “Gigli” will be vindicated. “The picture will speak for itself,” says executive Tom Sherak. “This is a really smart summer movie. It’s not a fastball down the middle. It’s not ‘The Hulk.’ It’s a curveball.” Here’s hoping it’s over the plate.