Monster-in-Law(2005)- User Reviews

Before I begin, let me just quickly say that I was one of the lone defenders of Gigli. That is to say that even though I didn't like the film so much, I didn't think it was awful and or the worst film I have ever seen. Ben Affleck was over the top in that movie and annoying, but it was Jennifer Lopez who stood out. She was actually pretty good and Gigli. As a matter of fact, in most of her acting efforts she has been pretty good, especially in last year's underrated Shall We Dance?

Now that you know how I feel about Jennifer Lopez and her acting abilities, let me tell you how I feel about her and this film known as Monster-in-Law.

To say that we have seen this movie before would be an understatement. If you have seen the film Meet the Parents, or even Guess Who, you have seen a film that handles this type of situation much better than in this film.

The film begins with us meeting Charlie (Jennifer Lopez). She is one of the amazingly attractive women who can't seem to find love at all. As a matter of fact, the only way she finds it, is by literally bumping into it at a coffee shop. Enter the male love interest Kevin. Rather quickly the two of them fall in love.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Viola, a Barbara Walters type journalist/talk show host. When we meet her, we learn that she has just been fired from her job (For reasons that aren't clearly explained) and has to go on with doing one more show (For reasons that inexplicablly unexplained). She of course flips out on a Britney Spears type superstar, for the movie's funniest scene, and ends up going to a "rehab center".

Five months go by with Charlie and Kevin moving into a house together, and Viola coming out of the "rehab center". Almost as soon as she as released, the three of them end up having brunch together at Viola's house. Only to move the plot along, for no explainable reason except for the fact that he is deeply in love with Charlie (Even though they have only known each other for five months) he decides to propose to her in front of his mother...........who was just released from the looney bin. Of course since this is a sitcom type of a movie, she begins to go crazy and then decides that she must make Charlie's life a living hell.

There you have, Monster-in-Law in a nutshell. Except for those of you who actually saw the previews for the movie, you could pretty much figure that out by yourself.

Now, my opinion of Jennifer Lopez hasn't changed after watching this film. The failure of this film should be squarely placed on the screenwriter's hands. For half of the film, the character of Charlie is a very sweet and loving woman. For the last half of the film, she decides to take revenge on Viola, and then she quickly becomes hateable. Yes, she is performing every in-laws dream of getting back at their mother-in law, but they don't actually perform on it. At one point we root for her, and finally we end up hating her.

As for Kevin played my Michael Vartan, who cares? He is only there because of Jane Fonda's character. You could really make Kevin a non-existent character and still have the film work as much as it did here.

Then there is Jane Fonda. She was in retirement for 15 years. First of all, who the hell cares? Second of all, she comes out of retirement to pick this film? What the hell was she thinking. There is not one ounce originality to be found anywhere in this film.

Finally, there is Wanda Sykes. If you have noticed her on any talk shows lately, she has been saying nonstop that this is the greatest film ever made. Now don't get me wrong, I know she is saying that to get a laugh, but I think she is also saying it for another reason. She's saying it because she knowns she is in a dog turd of a movie. She is the only actor to come out of this one with their dignity intact. She also comes up with the film's funniest one-liners. It has been said that she came up with most of those by herself. If that's true, that means two things. The first one is it proves she is a comic genius. The second is that the screenwriter's dialouge was truly pathetic and needed to be improved upon.

I first saw the film last weekend, during the Mother's Day sneak previews. As I was walking out with my family, they were handing out roses to all of the mothers. I at first thought they were doing it because it was Mother's Day and it was a nice gesture. But then I realized that I think they were actually apologizing to us.