Zertinet Movies
May 2005
"Monster-in-Law" Review
By Steven Snyder
SPOILERS!
Directed By: Robert Luketic
Written By: Anya Kochoff
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan
The love life of Charlotte Honeywell (Jennifer Lopez) is reduced to an endless string of disastrous blind dates, until she meets the perfect man, Kevin (Michael Vartan). Unfortunately, his merciless mother (Jane Fonda) will do anything to destroy their relationship.
STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW
As with most things in Hollywood nowadays, “Monster-In-Law” strains desperately to retrace the formula that has somewhat worked for other films before. But it, like so many other forgettable and mediocre retreads, neglects to realize that films still must be inventive, even in playing it safe, if they are going to rise above the rest.
That established, it’s safe to say there is not one surprising or memorable moment in the bland “Monster-In-Law.”
Consider this the “Anger Management” formula for filmmaking, for that is really where it was seen last. Pair an older A-List actor with a younger A-List actor, ask them to stretch beyond their normal range in battling the other generation and, by the end, have them understand each other so everyone can leave content.
In that round, it was Jack Nicolson, asked to play a loopy psychiatrist, and Adam Sandler, asked to play, well, his standard bumbling, irate idiot. Here in “Monster-In-Law,” it’s Jennifer Lopez playing the well-meaning, but secretly shrewd bride-to-be, and Jane Fonda, playing the virulent and maniacal mother of the groom.
Here’s the twist: She wants to stop the wedding. Hope I didn’t ruin it for anyone.
And this, more or less, is the concept that was greenlit by New Line Cinema – an epic cage match between two formidable acting talents let loose on each other.
To be fair, a film like this deserves a different sort of criteria. After all, first-time writer Anya Kochoff isn’t trying to write Walt Whitman here.
So, is it funny? Occasionally. Is it surprising? Never. Is it fun? In spots. If you’re looking for something to pacify your mind, wash over your senses and try repeatedly over two hours to be equal parts cute, funny and shocking, then this is your cup of tea.
Head-to-head, Lopez and Fonda do their jobs exactly as one would expect them to be done. Lopez is the innocent victim of Fonda’s attacks, forced to be polite and keep one hand tied behind her back. This builds to the film’s later moments, when she finally realizes just what is going on and unleashes a counterattack on her terrifying in-law.
Fonda, on the other hand, not only has both hands at her disposal, but also a hammer, ax, flame-thrower and grenade. She goes for broke in every sense of the word, throwing her body, emotions and vocal chords into a performance that earns an A for effort, though only a C for laughs. For a performance like this to work, the entire movie really needs to be going for the abusrd.
What becomes evident near the end of this comedy is that Lopez hasn’t broken type enough, as Nicholson did in “Anger Management,” to earn our laughs, and the battles between her and Fonda on the front lines are not nearly as funny as what’s happening in the background, back in the trenches.
As Fonda plots her manipulations, her personal assistant, played by comedian Wanda Sykes, is the real life-blood of their scenes. In a time of few good roles for women in general, much less older women, the middle-aged Sykes and almost-elderly Fonda have some genuine, surprising chemistry that keeps the film afloat.
The promise of two divas, from the past and present, clashing in an epic war of the attitudes never really materializes here. Instead, “Monster-In-Law” earns points for Fonda’s no holds bar performance and her unexpected chemistry with Sykes.
And admittedly, during these wedding-dominated summer months, “Monster-In-Law” ends with a genuine and sincere message: After all the feuding and fighting, this comedy actually celebrates, in a rather endearing scene, the fact that a marriage forever unites a great many more people than just bride and groom.
Then again, this lasting sweetness, and change of heart, is part of the formula too.
2 stars
© Zertinet.com 2005
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