Talk about "Monster In-Law" here:
Review by: Breanne Derby
Plot Summary
Charlotte "Charlie" Cantilini (Jennifer Lopez) is a late-twenty-something would-be-artist who holds down a variety of temporary jobs when she finally meets the man of her dreams, Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan). After a few months of dating, Kevin and Charlie's relationship is getting quite serious, and he decides that it's time for Charlie to meet his mother. Kevin's mother, Viola Fields (Jane Fonda), who has never been very accepting of Kevin's girlfriends, has just suffered a mental breakdown due to the fact that she's become too old for her career as a talk show host. Unfortunately, when Kevin proposes to Charlie at an afternoon tea with Viola, her nine months of therapy seems to have gone to waste, and the cool, calm, collected woman who returned from the mental institution quickly vanishes. The pre-breakdown Viola, a nasty woman who will get what she wants by any means, replaces the therapeutic Viola, and she begins on a quest to stop the wedding, and drive Charlie and Kevin apart.
Review
Once again, this is a film with Jennifer Lopez playing a late-twenty-something without a satisfactory love life (which, at 37, she's getting a little bit old to do). Once again, Jennifer Lopez stars in a "romantic comedy" in which there is some obstacle or another, but she will eventually find love. In this one, the obstacle just happens to be her future mother-in-law.
Though the plot was exactly like countless movies I've seen before, and Jennifer Lopez's character was the stereotypical chick-flick heroine, I have to say that this was one of the better chick flicks I've seen in a long time. This was generally a feel-good film, and since it was a chick-flick with a tired plot, it can't have more than 2.5 stars, but it was funny, and I found myself laughing at times.
If any actor or actress has to be commended for their performance in this film, it is definitely Jane Fonda. After fifteen years without doing a film, she comes back and plays quite the humorous role as Viola Fields. Another actress who added humor to the film was Wanda Sykes who is a stand-up comedian in real life and played Ruby, Viola's friend and servant. Her humor was more of the sarcastic and "stand-up comedic" variety, while Fonda's was a bit more like slapstick which personally, I am not particularly fond of, though she does a good job of combining slapstick with actual humor in this film. . .sort-of.
The relationship between Charlie and Viola is definitely a passionate (though I hope exaggerated) one which I'm sure many married women can relate to and I'm sure that's the target audience of this film.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, the relationship between Charlie and Viola is not the only exaggerated thing in the film. In-fact, everything in the film, every aspect of life, is exaggerated. Charlie has a gay friend, and his every action is flamboyant and stereotypical, Kevin is the stereotypical "perfect man" (sensitive, caring, doctor who will stop at nothing to win Charlie's heart), Ruby is the stereotypical black woman, and Viola is not only the stereotypical celebrity, but the stereotypical mother-in-law as well. I'd like to think that the film was created to poke fun at these stereotypes, but that simply is not true. The film, if anything, endorses the stereotypes that are placed on the people of the world. If we're ever going to expect fair and open-minded treatment of people, such actions should not by any means be rewarded.
