Monster-In-Law (2005)

Sight and Sound
"[T]he juxtaposition of Fonda with Lopez, now a star of comparable stature is shrewd..." 08/01/2005 p.62

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 3 of 10
Monster-in-Law is appalling misfire of a comedy - a motion picture that takes a situation ripe for the blackest vein of satire and reduces it to a puerile and edgeless pile of goo. Forgive me for a moment if I bemoan the lost potential here. Give a project like this to Danny DeVito, whose War of the Roses existed in not dissimilar territory, and the possibilities are endless. But with Robert Luketic at the helm, the experience of viewing this movie represents a one-way ticket into tedium and a forced 90-minute imprisonment with Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, both of whom give performances that can charitably be called cringe-inducing. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 2 of 10
Eventually we realize that Fonda's character consists entirely of a scene waiting to happen: The scene where her heart melts, she realizes Charlie is terrific, and she accepts her. Everything else Viola does is an exercise in postponing that moment.... By the time the happy ending arrives, it's too late... - Roger Ebert
 
Salon.com 6 of 10
Fonda is a wonderful comic actress, and not even this vehicle can completely sink her. But the role is thankless: It shows off Fonda's professionalism, but her wicked spark feels more manufactured than truly felt. There's a modest amount of chemistry between her and Lopez, but she really comes alive with Sykes: Sykes gets all the best lines in the movie ("You were taking me for a spin in the crazymobile!") -- or maybe it only seems that way...The only other reason to even attempt to watch "Monster-in-Law" is Jennifer Lopez. When critics write about Lopez as an actress, they often note that most of her movies have bombed, as if this were somehow purely her fault. But what strikes me about Lopez is how much I enjoy watching her even in otherwise completely dismal movies (like "Maid in Manhattan"). Lopez is a comfortable kind of right even when everything around her is wrong. Her line delivery always has an easy, offhanded gracefulness. With her honey-toned skin and ready smile, she has the kind of beauty that momentarily fools you into thinking it's ordinary. And even though I'm not a sucker for the "bride dressed in virginal white" thing, the sight of Lopez in a simple fitted wedding dress in "Monster-in-Law" did make me gasp. I'm consistently amazed at Hollywood's inability to build a good comedy around Lopez, and "Monster-in-Law," in particular, doesn't do her any favors. - Stephanie Zacharek
 
Reel.com 7 of 10
Cutting a very broad swath through Monster-in-Law, Jane Fonda unleashes her inner clown as the title character in this enjoyable but extremely uneven comedy from Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic. Back on screen with a vengeance after her 15-year sabbatical from acting, the two-time Oscar winner tears into her role with infectious abandon. While a winning Jennifer Lopez holds her own opposite the screen veteran, the redoubtable Ms. Fonda is the main attraction in Monster-in-Law, which generates just enough laughs to raise it a notch above serviceable...After a tepid beginning, where Lopez and Vartan engage in some incredibly flat romantic comedy banter, Monster-in-Law hits its catty stride as soon as Fonda hits the screen. A fine comedienne with crackerjack timing (see Barefoot in the Park or Cat Ballou), Fonda sails gleefully over the top as the martini-swilling Viola...Playing opposite such accomplished scene-stealers, Lopez has her work cut out for her to make a vivid impression. She's warm and likable and gives Charlie some much-needed gumption. Unlike her former fiance, Lopez continues to bounce back from the humiliating disaster of Gigli. But it's been seven years since Lopez made a truly good movie (Out of Sight). - Tim Knight