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Movies / On DVD / Monster-in-Law
Monster-in-Law

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Monster-in-Law (2005)

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Reviews Counted:161

Fresh:25

Rotten:136

Average Rating:4.2/10

Consensus: While Jane Fonda steals the movie in her return to the screen, a tired script and flimsy performances make this borderline comedy fall flat.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sex references and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:2005

Box Office: $82,820,167

Synopsis: Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) is looking for a nice guy who will appreciate her, as well as her myriad of interests and jobs. From walking dogs to painting to designing clothes to answering phones at a... Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) is looking for a nice guy who will appreciate her, as well as her myriad of interests and jobs. From walking dogs to painting to designing clothes to answering phones at a doctor's office, Charlie does it all. Keith (Michael Vartan) seems to fit the bill as a perfect match for her: he's charming, handsome, a successful doctor, and he is completely smitten with her. And now, he has proposed and wants to marry her. There's just one problem: his mother, Viola (Jane Fonda), is a nightmare. A legendary television journalist who has an on-air breakdown after being replaced by a much younger woman, Viola virtually lives for Keith, especially now that her career is apparently over. She doesn't think Charlie is good enough for her son, and she plans to do everything she can to break them up. Enlisting the help of her assistant, brutally honest Ruby (Wanda Sykes), Viola plots ways to drive Charlie crazy--and get her away from her son. She feigns illness, belittles her future daughter-in-law's jobs, and invites her son's old flame to visit at inopportune moments, among other things. But Viola underestimates Charlie, who isn't about to give up a happy future with Keith without a fight. Directed by Richard Luketic (LEGALLY BLONDE, WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON!), MONSTER-IN-LAW marks Fonda's return to the big screen following a 14-year absence. Elaine Stritch appears as Viola's own former monster-in-law. [More]

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes, Adam Scott, Will Arnett, Annie Parisse, Monet Mazur

Director: Robert Luketic

Director: Robert Luketic
Screenwriter: Richard LaGravenese, Anya Kochoff
Producer: Paula Weinstein, J.C. Spink, Chris Bender
Composer: David Newman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Release:

May 6, 2008

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Reviews for Monster-in-Law

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

In "Monster-in-Law," Jane Fonda emerges from her recent tobacco bath to take on her first movie role in 15 years. The good news? At 67, she's still smoking.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
05/16/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Monster-in-Law delivers the most laughs of any comedy since Meet the Fockers.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
05/13/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Fonda dives headlong into the comic mayhem of her role, and yet maintains the style and grace and gravitas of a major Hollywood diva.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
05/13/05
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Roaring through the film like a California wildfire, Fonda gives a powerhouse comic performance...

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
05/12/05
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

It's a one-joke movie, but we keep laughing because of the way the stars keep telling the joke.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/13/05
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Fonda and Lopez take a potentially tired concept and give it new life

Full Review Source: Gazette (MD) | comment Comment
05/12/05
Jeffrey Lyles
Jeffrey Lyles
Gazette (MD)

It takes awhile for `Monster-In-Law' to bare its teeth, but once the movie does...everything on the screen begins to click.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
05/13/05
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

How can you not admire a movie that might find itself picketed by veterans groups and PETA at the same time?

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
05/11/05
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

There's only one reason I'm giving this three stars, and that's Jane Fonda, whose talent is, well, monstrous.

Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | comment Comment
05/15/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

It’s finally happened. Jennifer Lopez has finally made a film that doesn’t make you want to chew off your own arm inside of about 20 minutes.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/14/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
05/13/05
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forget that boring subplot about getting married. This movie is a no-holds-barred catfight between the world's most psychotic mom and the pop star audiences most love to hate.

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
06/15/05
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

The movie could have sunk its claws deeper, but Fonda floors her comeback vehicle and you'd have to go to pre-pop diva days to find Lopez this effortlessly appealing.

Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
05/12/05
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Monster-in-Law, is only saved -- by the skin of its teeth -- by co-stars, Jane Fonda and Wanda Sykes.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Knockabout comic is just the latest incarnation in Fonda's life so far. Let her rip.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/04/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No Amityville horrors, no murderous little girl phantoms and not even Paris Hilton can contend with the likes of Fonda.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
05/11/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Even when Monster-in-Law becomes a rote, predictable ride, you want to watch it just to see what the actress will do next.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
05/12/05
Phoebe Flowers
Phoebe Flowers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

While there are moments of hilarious nastiness, the film continually opts to play it safe.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/13/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

There's a real hunger to Fonda's performance, an anything-can-happen quality that's more exciting than a thousand polished star turns.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly
 
 
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Latest News for Monster-in-Law

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