Monster-in-Law is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Anya Kochoff and starring Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Vartan and Wanda Sykes. It marked a return to cinema for Fonda, being her first film since Stanley & Iris in 1990. The film was negatively received by critics who praised Fonda but panned the screenplay. Monster-in-Law was a box office success, grossing $154 million on a $43 million budget.
Plot
Charlie Cantilini is a temp/dog walker/yoga instructor and aspiring fashion designer from Venice Beach, California, who meets doctor Kevin Fields. At first, she thinks he's gay because of a lie his vindictive ex-girlfriend Fiona told her. But then Kevin asks her out and she believes that she has finally found the right man. Things start to sour when Kevin introduces Charlie to his mother, Viola, a former newscaster who has recently been replaced by a younger woman, causing her to have a meltdown and attack a guest on-air. Loathing Charlie immediately, Viola becomes more distraught when Kevin proposes to her; fearing she'll lose her son the same way she lost her career. She sets out to ruin Kevin and Charlie's relationship, enlisting the help of her loyal assistant Ruby. The two try everything possible to drive Charlie away, even tricking her into eating nuts, which triggers a severe allergic reaction. Charlie eventually catches onto Viola's plan and fights back by destroying her bedroom and tampering with her anti-psychotic medication. On Charlie's wedding day, Viola turns up wearing a white dress instead of the peach-colored one Charlie specially made for her. This leads to a violent standoff between the two, with Viola refusing to accept Charlie and stating she'll never be good enough for Kevin. Suddenly, Viola's own dreadful mother-in-law, Kevin's grandmother Gertrude, appears and they have an indignant argument. Gertrude's resentment of Viola bears a strong resemblance to Viola's feelings of animosity toward Charlie, who decides to back down as she feels the same thing will happen to them in 30 years. Charlie exits to tell Kevin that the wedding is off to save his relationship with his mother. But before that can happen, Ruby enters and tells that Viola's efforts against Charlie to make Kevin happy are unwarranted. Viola ultimately realizes that she wants Charlie to stay, and they reconcile. Charlie then explains to Viola that she wants her to stay. Charlie and Kevin get married and, when Charlie throws her wedding bouquet, Viola catches it. As Charlie and Kevin drive away to their honeymoon, the film ends with Viola and Ruby walking out of the celebration go out to drink.
, the film holds an 18% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 170 reviews with an average rating of 4.28/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While Jane Fonda steals the movie in her return to the screen, a tired script and flimsy performances make this borderline comedy fall flat." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on reviews from 38 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one out of possible four stars, saying: "You do not keep Jane Fonda offscreen for 15 years, only to bring her back as a specimen of rabid Momism. You write a role for her. It makes sense. It fits her. You like her in it. It gives her a relationship with Jennifer Lopez that could plausibly exist in our time and space. It gives her a son who has not wandered over after the "E.R." auditions. And it doesn't supply a supporting character who undercuts every scene she's in by being more on-topic than any of the leads." Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal also panned the movie, and used his review to deride the state of big-budget film-making, writing: "Films like this... are emblematic of Hollywood's relentless dumbing-down and defining-down of big-screen attractions. There's an audience for such stuff, but little enthusiasm or loyalty. Adult moviegoers are being ignored almost completely during all but the last two or three months of each year, while even the kids who march off to the multiplexes each weekend know they're getting moldy servings of same-old, rather than entertainments that feed their appetite for surprise and delight." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle was one of the few critics who gave the film a positive review, writing: "It's a crude, obvious comedy, which occasionally clunks, but it's often very funny, as well as being a really shrewd bit of popular entertainment. Its appeal resides in a lot of things, not the least of which is a sophisticated awareness of what an audience brings to it." The film ran 849 sneak preview screenings on Mother's Day at 4pm, the Sunday before release. New Line's president of domestic distribution David Tuckerman publicly stated his doubts about this strategy but the film achieved 90% attendance and he stated "the marketing department hit a home run." The film became a box-office success debuting at number #1 at the box office, earning $83 million as the domestic box office and a worldwide total of $154.7 million, against an estimated production budget of $43 million. Lopez earned a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress for her performance in the film, but lost to Jenny McCarthy for Dirty Love.
