| MONSTER-IN-LAW |
 2001 - USADirector: Robert Luketic
- Reviewed by Jennifer
I cannot imagine what possessed Jane Fonda to emerge from retirement to star in Monster-In-Law. Was it boredom? Was it the chance to work with Michael Vartan? Was it a marketing gimmick to complement her new book? I just don't get it, because the script is pitiful, and lets face it, almost everything Jennifer Lopez touches turns to crap: she's got The Crapper Touch. Jennifer plays Charlie, a free spirit who makes her living doing temp work and walking dogs. It seems that life couldn't get any better after she falls in love with a doctor, but when Kevin (Michael Vartan) takes her to meet his mother, her happy little world is turned on its ear. Kevin's mother, Viola (Jane Fonda), is a controlling divorcee who can't bear the thought of sharing her son with another woman. She'll do everything in her power to prevent Kevin and Charlie from walking down the aisle. After losing her job as a talk show host, Viola goes a little nutty, and Charlie becomes the next victim of her nuttiness. Hah! I just cracked myself up! You see, Charlie's allergic to nuts, and Viola puts almonds in the gravy, causing her lips to blow up like inner tubes! She really does fall victim to Viola's nuttiness!! Um, yeah.... That's pretty much what passes for funny in this tiresome, overblown 101 minute cat fight. We watch as Viola goes to extremes to drive Charlie away, and Clueless Kevin just smiles and says, "Aw shucks, I knew you two would get along." Finally Charlie grows a spine and starts fighting back, but none of this is particularly interesting. The movie is peppered with condescending comments like, "I'd like you to meet Charlie, she's a temp", and is generally sort of mean-spirited and stupid. It's full of humiliation and property damage that would be pretty darn upsetting in real life, but -what am I saying?- this is "comedy"! At one point, Charlie drugs Viola and lets her sleep face down in a plate of tripe—overnight. Nevermind that she couldn't breathe—everything's funny when it's J Lo vs. J Fo! Though Jane Fonda is still a formidable talent, and easily outshines the youngsters in this film, the material is beneath her. The only really redeeming part of Monster-In-Law is Wanda Sykes, who gets all the best lines and tells it like it is. As Viola's assistant, she's the smartest of the bunch, and unquestionably the funniest. Even the brilliant Elaine Stritch is underutilized. Michael Vartan is benign, but colorless and forgettable. And Jennifer Lopez... what is it with her? She just laughs her way through one lame movie after another. How long will it be before audiences come to their senses and start screaming "J No"? |
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