Product Details

• Actors: Jane Fonda, Elaine Stritch, Jennifer Lopez, Monet Mazur, Will Arnett
• Format: AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 15, 2008
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001675YYS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,933 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

After years of incredibly bad dates, Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) thinks she's met the perfect man...until she meets his possessive and merciless mother! Jane Fonda returns to Hollywood to play the worst mother-in-law ever who will do everything she can to break up the happy couple!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, July 14, 2009

By	Jena Brazda "Disney Dreamer" (Rohnert Park, Ca) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thought this movie was wonderful, I don't know why people did not like it. I thought it was romantic, funny, and a little bit of dark humor. I did not know what I would get going into the movie because people did not rate it the best. I would reccomend this movie to many people. I guess it is all in what you like, just don't go into the movie expecting what people just say and judge it your self I think people will be impressed.

1.0 out of 5 stars Monstrous, April 7, 2008

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Mothers-in-law. They can be a woman's best friend, or her most lethal enemy.

When the subject comes up, I always remember the tale of a young man whose mom spent his wedding loudly shouting that they would be divorced in six months, set up a fund for their divorce, and other endearing actions. I imagine that woman was a bit like Jane Fonda's unspeakably catty character in the limp "Monster-in-Law."

To some degree, "Monster-in-Law" isn't a romantic comedy movie. It's an overlong sitcom episode.

Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) is a temp/dog-walker whose dreams are about to come true -- she's engaged to Kevin (Michael Vartan), a sweet and hunky doctor. There's only one small problem: Viola (Jane Fonda), Kevin's strong-willed mumsie, doesn't think that Charlie is right for her perfect son.

So Viola does the only thing she can think of -- she starts pranking Charlie, hoping to drive the unworthy future-in-law away. Poisoned food, ripped dresses, wedding disasters and slap fighting all ensue, but soon Charlie gets sick of it and begins to fight back. Who will win, the desperate fiancee or the force-of-nature mom?

Yeah, it's not much of a plot. I kept waiting for the laugh track to kick in, and a preview for next week's episode.

In fact, the plotlessness is what really hurts "Monster-in-Law." Once Charlie and Viola are introduced, the entire film descends into a series of pranks, which in turn are dropped in favor of warm'n'fuzzy "aw, what hardships you've had." Slapstick ones too -- if Robert Luketic had taken the P.G. Wodehouse route of elaborate pranking, it might have worked. But watching Fonda and Lopez going bonkers at each other isn't very funny.

It doesn't help that the screenplay is as limp as the plotting. Poor Vartan is forced to spout endless romance-novel cheez, which is more likely to induce vomiting than thrills -- "What are you doing the rest of your life?". And alas, innocent moviegoers are forced to endure yet more tributes to Lopez's much-hyped posterior, which probably has a stylist and trailer all its own.

Jennifer Lopez is the kiss of death to romantic comedies -- there's nothing very funny about her face, her body, or her way of delivering lines. And to be honest, Vartan doesn't fit in this movie any better -- he looks rather confused, as if he isn't sure how he ended up in this particular film. Not to mention a bit overwhelmed by the catfighting.

The saving graces? Fonda has wild, hilarious manic energy that overcomes the thinness of her role, and makes her quite fun to watch. And Wanda Sykes, as her P.A., gets the best lines of the whole movie. When the two of them are on the screen together, they're pure hilarity. In fact, forget Lopez -- make the movie about Wanda and Jane, and you've got a hit.

Cheesy dialogue and no plot sink "Monster-in-Law," a comedy that leaves you wondering why Fonda chose to return after fifteen years to.... this.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Never received the DVD Monster in Law, June 17, 2009

By	Darlene L. Rosalie - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't understand why we haven't received this DVD yet. We ordered it May 17th '09. No correspondence what so ever, after repeatedly sending inquiries as where the DVD is. We were also charged, and have nothing to show for it. I can't even bring myself to give a one star rating. Very poor customer service.

Darlene Rosalie