The Observer
May 13, 2005
"Monster-in-Law" Review
Philip French, The Observer
SPOILERS!
Monster-in-Law is a painfully unfunny, deeply dislikable distaff version of Meet the Parents, starring Jennifer Lopez as a Los Angeles dog walker, artist, yoga instructor, medical receptionist and part-time party caterer who catches the eye of a preening 35-year-old surgeon, Michael Vartan. He takes her home to meet his thrice-divorced mother, Viola (Jane Fonda), a star TV talk-show host who's temporarily off her rocker because the network has replaced her with a younger woman.
After her son gets on his knees in her presence to propose to his fiancee, Viola sets out by foul, fouler and foulest means to disrupt this relationship. The dialogue is feeble, the comic timing of both Lopez and Fonda is constantly off, and the film's single redeeming feature is a brief appearance in the final reel of Elaine Stritch as Fonda's imperious, boozy ex-mother-in-law.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
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