Monster-in-Law is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Anya Kochoff. It stars Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, and Wanda Sykes. The film was Jane Fonda’s first movie in 15 years since her role in Stanley & Iris in 1990.
The story follows Temp Charlotte Cantillini, whose love life has not changed for a long time. Her life changes when she meets Dr. Kevin Fields repeatedly, and they quickly form a connection. Their relationship grows, but Charlotte must face Kevin’s strict mother, Violet, who tries to stop them from being together.
Critics gave the film poor reviews, though they praised Jane Fonda’s acting. They criticized the screenplay and Jennifer Lopez’s performance. Despite the negative reviews, Monster-in-Law was very successful at the movies, earning $155 million with a production budget of $43 million.
Plot
Charlie Cantilini works as a temporary employee, dog walker, and yoga instructor. She is also trying to become a fashion designer from Venice Beach, California. She meets Dr. Kevin Fields. At first, she believes he is gay, but Kevin later asks her out, and she feels she has finally found the right man.
Problems begin when Kevin introduces Charlie to his mother, Viola, a former newscaster who now hosts a talk show. Viola was recently replaced by a much younger woman, which led her to have a breakdown and attack a 15-year-old pop star named Tanya Murphy. This caused her to be sent to a facility for several months.
Viola dislikes Charlie because of her job as a temporary employee. She becomes more upset when Kevin proposes to Charlie, fearing she will lose her son the same way she lost her career. To ruin their relationship, Viola gets help from her loyal assistant, Ruby, and Kevin’s angry ex-girlfriend, Fiona, who had previously tricked Charlie into thinking Kevin was gay.
At the engagement party, Fiona kisses Kevin in his dressing room, deeply hurting Charlie, who feels out of place in Kevin’s world, as Viola and Fiona planned. Viola pretends to have an anxiety attack and moves in with Charlie while Kevin is away for a medical conference, hoping to drive her away with her actions.
Charlie realizes Viola’s plan and retaliates by destroying her bedroom and tampering with her antipsychotic medication (which Viola had replaced with vitamin C tablets). Charlie confronts Viola, forcing her to move out. Finding no way to stop the wedding, Viola tricks Charlie into eating nuts during the rehearsal dinner. This causes an extreme allergic reaction, making Charlie’s face and tongue swell. Fortunately, the reaction stops by the next morning.
On the wedding day, Viola arrives wearing an extravagant white dress instead of the peach-colored one Charlie had made for her. This leads to a violent argument, with Viola refusing to accept Charlie and claiming she will never be good enough for Kevin.
Suddenly, Kevin’s grandmother, Gertrude, arrives, and they argue. Gertrude blames Viola for the death of Kevin’s father, claiming he died of “terminal disappointment,” while Viola claims Gertrude is responsible because she “smothered him to death,” believing no woman would ever be good enough for him. Gertrude’s dislike of Viola mirrors Viola’s dislike of Charlie, who decides to back down, thinking the same thing will happen to them in 30 years.
Charlie leaves to tell Kevin the wedding is off, but Ruby convinces Viola. Ruby points out that Viola is worse than Gertrude, as Gertrude never tried to poison her (referring to the nuts at the rehearsal dinner). Ruby also reveals that Gertrude wore black to Viola’s wedding because she was “in mourning” for her son, a disrespectful mirror of Viola’s behavior. When Viola claims she wants her son to be happy, Ruby asks her why she thinks he is not.
Viola has an epiphany and realizes she wants Charlie to stay. She agrees to leave the couple alone if that means her son is happy. Charlie, however, tells Viola she wants her to be part of their lives, so they set boundaries and ground rules.
Charlie and Kevin get married, and Viola (now wearing the peach-colored dress) catches the bouquet. As the newlyweds drive away to their honeymoon in Hawaii, Viola and Ruby leave to go out drinking.
Reception
On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 167 critics gave the movie positive reviews. The website’s summary states: "Although Jane Fonda delivers a strong performance, a weak script and poor acting cause the film to fail as a comedy." On Metacritic, the movie has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 38 critics, which means "generally unfavorable reviews." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale from "A+" to "F."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one star out of four, writing: "Jane Fonda was kept offscreen for 15 years, but her return feels forced. A meaningful role for her would have made sense. It could have created a believable relationship with Jennifer Lopez and avoided weak supporting characters who overshadow her scenes." Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal criticized the film, calling it an example of Hollywood’s focus on simple, unoriginal movies. He wrote: "Films like this ignore adult audiences and offer little excitement or creativity." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a positive review, stating: "It is a simple comedy with some awkward moments, but it is often funny and provides enjoyable entertainment."
The film had 849 sneak preview screenings on Mother’s Day at 4 p.m., the Sunday before its release. New Line’s president of domestic distribution, David Tuckerman, expressed doubts about the strategy, but the film achieved 90% attendance. He later said, "The marketing team succeeded in promoting the film." The movie became a box-office success, debuting at number #1 in its first weekend with $24 million. By the end of its run, it earned $83 million in the United States and $154.7 million worldwide, compared to a production budget of $43 million.
Jennifer Lopez received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress for her role in the film but did not win, losing to Jenny McCarthy for her performance in Dirty Love.
Television series
On October 13, 2014, it was announced that Fox was working on a television series based on the film, with Amy B. Harris as the creator. In 2021, E! said that the series was not made.