Once they got Jane Fonda signed onto this project, they should have had the script doctor called in. Ms Fonda's return to frothy comedy is an event, but the film is not, and it does not serve her well. Jennifer Lopez co-stars and, as you might imagine, she doesn't hold up her end. A soft-voiced, bushy-tailed ingénue (at least in this story), J-Lo ends up as Fonda's straight woman; someone funny and gutsy was needed. In the DVD-version extras, you will find that some of the best scenes were edited out or not used in the final cut. (The all-out cat-fight that got replaced with a little face-slapping sure would have brightened things up.) Wanda Sykes' big scene got cut, and her much-needed sass is too watered down in her remaining scenes. Stage legend Elaine Stitch is trotted out near the end, but her role would have been more effective if it were larger. The entire script, which should have served only as a blueprint, needed to be punched up and made funnier. Only Jane Fonda's deviously undermining title character makes an impression, hauling this dead-weight vehicle around.
Review of Monster-in-Law
