Monster-in-Law a Nuisance

I did not have high expectations seeing this movie to begin with, thus I was not disappointed at the lackluster offering. What could have been a delicious dark comedy turned into a rather dry and bland romantic comedy with seemingly nowhere to go except to a bland predictable yet "happy" conclusion.

Perhaps the director Robert Luketic of Legally Blonde fame was not a good fit for this movie and would have been a much better adaptation if directed by the Farrelly Brothers or Danny DeVito. The Farrelly brothers would have had comedy that included small animals and DeVito would probably have escalated the tension to gun-play. Sadly, the move was toned and restrained in its approach.

There is also the believability factor to contend with. Jane Fonda's character has a breakdown at the beginning of the movie because as a result of being fired as a national news anchor. This does not give sufficient motive for her to sabotage her son's wedding. So, the whole half-baked plot to ruin her son's marriage has little credibility throughout the rest of the film.

There are some funny points in the movie where J'Lo's mouth swells up to duckbill like proportions, and also her revenge on the mother-in-law for staging a fake illness. But again, the meat of the reasoning for this is lost, and thus the dramatic and comedic tension that could have been enjoyable is lost.

Also, very little care is taken to expose the "momma's boy" issues of the man that Charlie (Lopez) is marrying. Michael Vartan who plays Kevin fields plays an almost non-existent role in this movie, more like a plot subtext from the tension that is supposed to exist between Charlie Cantilini (Lopez) and Viola Fields (Fonda).

The plot wanes on and the predictable escalation between Viola and Charlie that is supposed to occur seems half-baked at best. The comedic addition of Ruby played by Wanda Sykes as a kind of voice of reason in this conflict does not even seem to ring true. In reality the Sykes character probably would not have put up with Viola's antics much more than say a week before applying for another job will a less high maintenance employer.