I’m not much of a fan of either Jane Fonda or Jennifer Lopez, but it is possible to like a film with a couple of headliners that you might usually rate as “so-so” or “who cares?” Take “Monster-in-Law” for example. While Lopez is the top billed star in this one, Fonda’s energy shoves J-Lo aside as she plays the soon-to-be mother-in-law who turns psychotic in a desperate to sabotage her son’s relationship in the wake of her high-profile career crashing down. “Monster-in-Law” is a neat little romantic comedy worth catching on movie networks and you’ll also find a nice performance by Wanda Sykes.
‘Monster-in-Law’
(2005; 101 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Robert Luketic and starring Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez and Michael Vartan)
BRINGING IT WITH OLD-SCHOOL SABOTAGE
(NOTE: I reorganized and expanded this review with some additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Dec. 25, 2019. I again expanded the review on Oct. 22, 2024.)
Although Jennifer Lopez gets headliner status with Jane Fonda in “Monster-in-Law,” she cannot keep up with either Fonda’s acting ability OR energy here. Plain and simple: “Monster-in-Law” is a showcase for Fonda and when she’s not on screen it’s as dull and lifeless as dishwater.
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I have to say Fonda isn’t one of my favorite stars but she has an impressive resume including two Oscars and five nominations (I liked her best in “The Electric Horseman” with Robert Redford – click here for my review) and was a great choice for “Monster-in-Law.” Lopez is more modern, but with much less acting talent. However, she does become a bit endearing in this one and that isn’t easy at any time by any actor.
In “Monster-in-Law,” Lopez, playing “Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Cantillini,” falls in love with a doctor whose mother is a Barbara Walters-like TV interviewer who has just been fired in favor of a younger woman. It’s the old girl-attracted-to-boy and they meet and fall in love story. However, the serpent in their Garden of Eden has just gotten out of a facility after her breakdown following her firing and she discovers a new purpose in her life and begins a campaign to break up the couple.
Fonda, who plays “Viola Fields,” winds up stacking the deck and dealing aces off the bottom by pulling out some old-school sabotage weapons: playing the my-son-is-all-I’ve-got-left card; being two-faced by putting an old girlfriend back in the picture; and just plain old rapid-fire annoyance. Of course, this just sets up the jokes and the film concludes with surprisingly good work by both actors in the climactic showdown between the two women.
Now, a look at the headliners …
A two-time Oscar winner and five-time nominee, Fonda is just superb from the beginning as the imperious TV interviewer of heads of state and other historical figures. After getting out of treatment for her breakdown, Fonda just oozes anger, energy and a not-so-well-hidden bitterness. Since you don’t see Fonda until 16 minutes into “Monster-in-Law” you probably were wondering why you even watched it and then the dynamite explodes with all of Fonda’s talent and energy. She has also been in “California Suite” (click here for my review), the original “Fun with Dick and Jane” (click here for my review) as well as her Oscar-winning roles in “Klute” and “Coming Home.” Her nominations came for “The Morning After,” “On Golden Pond,” “The China Syndrome,” “Julia” and “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”- At the end, you realize many other actors could have been better here than two-time Golden Globe nominee (not for this one) Lopez. She doesn’t bring much to the table (except at the end where she briefly elevates her character to nearly Fonda’s equal in an emotional climax with Jane) and is fun but lacking that “something.” Lopez was nominated for “Selena” and “Hustlers” from 2019 and was also in “The Wedding Planner” and “Maid in Manhattan.”
The supporting cast is solid, especially Wanda Sykes, but they are all left in Fonda’s wake.
- A Primetime Emmy winner and eight-time nominee, Sykes plays “Ruby,” who is the brassy, sharp-tongued assistant to Fonda. Sykes does a great job of being the little-listened-to voice of reason for Fonda and she delivers one-liners like knockout punches. Sykes has also been in “Evan Almighty,” “Pootie Tang” and TV shows such as “Crank Yankers” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” She won her Emmy and earned three nominations for writing on “The Chris Rock Show.” Her other nominations include work on “Black-ish” and several comedy specials in which she headlined.
- Lost in all of this chick-flick talent is Michael Vartan as “Dr. Kevin Fields,” who is the longsuffering son who finds his bride-to-be is becoming longsuffering, too. Vartan is even more milquetoast than Lopez in her early scenes and by the end is just so much window dressing for the two women. He has also been in the powerfully creepy “One Hour Photo” and the “Never Been Kissed.” Vartan hasn’t notched an acting credit since 2018 and last had a sports talk show in 2020.
- A three-time Emmy winner and five-time nominee, Elaine Stritch has the most bombastic effort in the smallest part. She plays “Gertude Fields,” who is Fonda’s mother-in-law and delivers knockout verbal punches of her own even more quickly than Fonda. Stritch is very good here in what can only be called a bit part and you’d like to have seen more – but she would have detracted from Fonda. Stritch has also been in “Autumn in New York,” plus TV roles including a soap opera and had a career of eight decades beginning in 1948. Her wins came for “Law & Order,” “30 Rock” and a comedy special in which she headlined. Strich earned her nominations for “30 Rock” and the other for the mini-series “An Inconvenient Woman.” She passed away in 2014 at the age of 89 of stomach cancer.
- Of Lopez’s friends, only Adam Scott stands out. Scott, who plays “Remy,” breezes into and out of scenes with ease and is a confidant worth listening to. He pulls off a neat role here with a touch of sophistication not every actor can always find. Scott has also been in “The Aviator” and “Step Brothers.”
“Monster-in-Law” wasn’t a hit with the critics and did OK at the box office, but electricity between the two women make it better than its rating by critics. Especially funny are the brief dream sequences when Fonda imagines jamming Lopez’s face into dessert or when Lopez imagines smacking Fonda with a skillet. The pair’s face-smacking routine at the end is almost as good.
So, in a final word of advice: if you record “Monster-in-Law” on your DVR then fast forward to Fonda’s initial scene. You won’t miss much of the bland courtship of Lopez and Vartan and you’ll get right to the good stuff (the scene with the Britney Spears-like pop star is priceless).
“Monster-in-Law” was the 23rd ranked film at the U.S. box office in 2005 with $$82.9 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. Worldwide, “Monster-in-Law” made $154.7 million on a $43 million budget, according to Wiki. “Monster-in-Law” came in five spots behind the remake of Fonda’s “Fun with Dick and Jane,” which made $110.3 million and trailed far behind the year’s No. 1 film: “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” with $380.2 million. Here are the other films from 2005 that I’ve reviewed:
- “Bad News Bears” (OK remake of classic) – click here for my review
- “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” (good comedy sequel) – click here for my review
- “Dukes of Hazzard” (nice update of TV show) – click here for my review
- “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (hilarious sex comedy) – click here for my review
- “A History of Violence” (terrific dark drama) – click here for my review
Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):
- “Monster-in-Law” was Fonda’s first film since “Stanley and Iris” in 1990 and she was quoted as saying that she based her character on her former husband Ted Turner.
- Mark Ruffalo was offered, but declined, the role played by Vartan.
- Stephanie Turner plays “Tanya Murphy,” who is the teenaged pop star so vacuous that Fonda attacks her during an interview. Turner does Britney Spears very well and has also been five TV roles to her credit as well as the film “Paper Cuts.”
- Lopez and Vartan saw their exes Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner respectively marry each other after breaking up with them.
- Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “All of the photos of Viola Fields on her table with famous people are real pictures of Jane Fonda with … Ted Turner, Jon Voight and Gloria Steinem. The only ‘doctored’ item is the cover of Time Magazine, which Fonda was set to appear on the cover of, however Pope John Paul II‘s Death in 2005 took the headline and subsequently, the cover.”
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