Monster-in-Law (New Line Platinum Series)
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Adam Scott, Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes Director: Robert Luketic Brand: Warner Brothers Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter Editor: Scott Hill Editor: Kevin Tent Producer: Richard Brener Producer: Toby Emmerich Producer: Michael Flynn Writer: Anya Kochoff DVD: Region Code 0 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 100 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-08-30 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: New Line Cinema |
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Movie Reviews of Monster-in-Law (New Line Platinum Series)
Movie Review: Fun and funny, but profoundly predictable
Summary: 3 Stars
MONSTER IN LAW represents Jane Fonda's return to the movies for the first time in fifteen years. The role is a genuine departure for her, for she plays an aging TV host and mother who has lost her job and is losing her son to Jennifer Lopez in marriage. She was fifty-two at the time of her previous film, so this is the first time on screen where playing an older woman has arisen. So, how did Jane do? First, anyone would have to grant that she is aging with grace. Yes, she looks older, but she has also obviously worked hard at taking care of herself, and I only pray that when I reach her age I am even remotely in as good a shape as she is now. Unfortunately, I am not sure that the role was completely appropriate for her. She basically has to play an extraordinarily shallow, selfish, self-absorbed jerk, and though she throws herself into this wholeheartedly, she isn't completely believable. Nonetheless, there are still a host of very funny scenes, and while the part might not be perfect for her, it certainly wasn't an utter mistake.
The real problem with the movie is that it is utterly predictable. Before it starts, you know pretty much everything that is going to happen. You know that it will start off at Point A and end up at Point Z, the only question being some of the variations along the way. There is nothing necessarily bad about being predictable, as long as one makes up for it by being creative within that framework. And indeed many of the jokes here are quite funny, and there are a number of nice moments. However, almost all of the key transitions are rather tired and true. By the end of the film, the viewer is left with the distinct impression of having seen it all before.
Jennifer Lopez has one of the most negative public images of any actor or actress in America, but however she might be as a person face to face, I have always like her film persona. She projects as a very sweet, very nice individual on screen, and one of the regrets I have had about her career is that she hasn't made enough films like THE WEDDING PLANNER and MAID IN MANHATTAN. This isn't as good a movie as either of those films, but as in those I enjoyed the moments she appears on screen. I very much regretted, on the other hand, the relatively small amount of time that Michael Vartan had in the film. I was worried that I was going to have trouble accepting him in the film, being a big fan of ALIAS. I wasn't sure that I could accept him as anyone except Vaughan, but it turned out to be remarkably easy to do so. It would have been hard in a film structured around Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda squaring off, but I wish he had had a larger role, even though he was third billed as it was. The other major presence in the film-and a highly welcome one-was stand up comedienne Wanda Sykes as Ruby, Jane Fonda's assistant. She if a fundamentally funny person, and is delightful in delivering her lines whether they are strictly funny or not.
All in all, this is a fine comedy as long as one keeps one's expectations somewhat muted. After I saw it at a preview, I replied to friends who asked about it, "I'd wait for it on DVD." I think that is about right. It is a pleasant film, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to see a film in a theater. For that, there are probably better options.
On a side note for those interested in celebrity gossip (and come on, even Franklin Delano Roosevelt delighted in it) should take note the irony of having Jennifer Lopez and Michael Vartan teamed together as a romantic couple in a film. Jennifer Lopez was, of course, famously linked with Ben Affleck, who went on after the breaking off of their engagement to become involved with Jennifer Garner, who was involved with Michael Vartan shortly before dating Affleck.