Saturday, January 22, 2011

Movie Review: Monster-in-Law

Monster-in-Law, as the title suggests, chronicles the troubled relationship between a young bride-to-be and her future mother-in-law. The only reason Leann and I were interested in watching this film was because we enjoyed Michael Vartan in Alias.

Unfortunately Michael Vartan's role (Kevin) was relatively undeveloped and he played it like a cardboard cut-out. Jennifer Lopez (Charlotte) seemed to be trying really hard, but none of the emotions she tried to convey were quite realistic. Jane Fonda (Kevin's mother, Fiona) did a fabulous job.[1] Her assistant, though funny at times, had a potty mouth. Her next-door neighbor doesn't really play any role except the token gay friend that all romantic comedies must include these days.

My verdict: The first several minutes of the film, which detail Charlotte's troubled love life and a pointless focus on how here horoscope and Tarot cards helped her find Kevin, didn't help the story at all and should've been cut. The climax, despite presenting a worthwhile moral, falls flat. In the end it just wasn't that great of a film; there's better material out there.


Notes:

[1] Leann thought it was sad, though, that she's aged so much that you can't even tell that she's the same actress from Barefoot in the Park or On Golden Pond.

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