Jennifer Lopez stars as Charlie, a temp looking for love in Los Angeles. Her life is like her home, very eclectic and unique to her, and she prides herself on never having two days be the same as she works many different jobs. She finally meets her dream man Kevin (Michael Vartan), a doctor who finds her spontaneity a nice change from the women he normally dates. The only thing left before he proposes is to introduce her to his mother, Viola (Jane Fonda). Viola, a newswoman recently fired because of her age, is distraught at the thought of her son belonging to another woman. Insistent that Charlie isn’t good enough for her son, she enlists her assistant, Ruby (Wanda Sykes), to help her drive Charlie away. Only she’s up for a fight!

J-Lo needs a hit film. Her last few movies have been somewhat unsuccessful as her private life has eclipsed her professional life in the news. Jersey Girl and Shall We Dance? were by no means blockbusters, and Gigli has become an industry joke. Monster-in-Lawteams her with a superstar from another era, Jane Fonda, who has been on hiatus for 15 years. Fonda does a really great job at playing a conniving bitch. However, political opinions aside, the woman can act and has given some of the best performances of any actress in the past 50 years. Hopefully, Lopez picked up some tips. The funniest cast member, however, was Wanda Sykes. She had the best one-liners of anyone. Michael Vartan was annoying as the oblivious son. How could he not know how his mother would react to his engagement given how overbearing she has been his entire life?

Monster-in-Law was good for a few laughs, though it was highly unrealistic. But in this day and age it’s not often that you laugh at comedies. Almost every joke has been heard before in some sitcom or movie, and to find myself laughing out loud as much as I did at this one makes me feel the price of admission was worthwhile.

Greg can be reached at hummel@detroitbuzz.com.

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