Monster-in-Law (2005)
Jane Fonda is the cinematic Godmother
of my generation. I grew up in the 70's and I remember
seeing her in movies all through my teen years. Her
work was odd, almost neurotic, nervous and edgy and
decidedly adult.
I grew up in the Midwest and Fonda
wasn't like anyone I had ever met. She wasn't anything
like my mother or my mother's friends. She was more
like one of my Uncle Luke's cool, hippy girlfriends
except she was even older than my mother. She was
10 years older then my mother but seemed younger,
hipper, and more in tune. Fonda had protested the
war. She was a political activist. She had protested
the Vietnam war. She dated a politico named Tom Hayden.
When I was a teenager, I saw her
in "Fun with Dick and Jane," then "The Electric Horseman"
and "9 to 5" and finally, the ultimate movie of her
career, "On Golden Pond." She was Henry Fonda's daughter
and Peter Fonda's sister. She was "Barbarella" (a
movie that failed to interest me when I finally saw
it on TV) and more. She was probably the most interesting
and important "Hollywood" actress of her generation.
More human than Streep, she was also more approachable
and realistic. I think what made her more interesting
was that she seemed honest, raw, real and fragile.
She was a real person not a Hollywood "personality,"
not a celebrity, and not just a pretty face. She was
more than just Henry Fonda's daughter. She had substance,
not like Streep, who had thespianism substance or
Diane Keaton who had cerebral intellectual substance
or Goldie Hawn who had goofiness and good looks. She
was a real flesh and blood person, overcoming her
own lineage and her own political heart in the public
eye and seemingly unafraid to be seen doing it. She
was flawed and failed in real life. She showed the
world the disfunction of being a "celebrity" daughter
and wife by not only talking about herself in public
but by BEING herself in public, showing us that we
were wrong to think of her not only as "simply" a
woman but also as "simply" a wife or "simply" a daughter.
There was never anything simple at all about Jane
Fonda.
As I and my peers got older, Fonda
aged gracefully along with us. She started doing exercise
videos. She did two amazing if somewhat cerebral films;
"Agnes of God" and "The Morning After" in the 80's
that were amazing movies. I thought she was terrific.
Hardly anyone else seemed to care. She started dating
Ted Turner. She retired from acting.
Truth be told, I wasn't really thinking
about any of this when I went to see her return to
film acting after a 15 year absence from the screen.
Despite my gushing here, I'm certainly no Jane Fonda
fan club member. She'd been out of my mind for a bit
even though I'd recently seen her in the Mark Wexler
doc about his father, the phenomenal cinematographer
Haskell Wexler, called "Tell
Them Who You Are" and on TV hyping her new autobiography.
But when I saw Jane Fonda on the
big screen again in "Monster-in-Law," all of this
started flooding back to me. She is as much a part
of my pop culture psyche as Dolly Parton and Lilly
Tomlin and Robert Redford and George Segal and her
brother Peter and her father Henry and Katherine Hepburn.
She is the 70's and the 80's. She is an icon.
Now, I like Jennifer Lopez, Fonda's
co-star here, in movies too. I think the only thing
I've ever seen J-Lo in that I didn't like was "The
Wedding Planner." And J-Lo with J-Fo is just awesome.
These two are having a blast in this movie and the
chemistry practically oozes of the screen. Fonda looks
great and is at the top of her game here. J-Lo is
stuck in another "romantic comedy" that doesn't allow
her much room to move but she still makes the best
of it.
Fonda looks amazing. Maybe she has
had a little work done but who cares. Fonda, who was
always daring on screen and off, reclaims her territory
as a "real" honest-to-God woman in this film. She
may be close to 70 years old but she isn't afraid
to show her body or wear revealing clothing if the
reality of the scene calls for it. As bold and daring
as she ever was, Fonda makes a return to the silver
screen here that shows her to be as captivating and
as awesome as she was 30 years ago.
And while Fonda and Lopez have a
ton of fun here, the real hilarity here comes from
Wanda Sykes. Of course, Fonda is the kind of person
and actress who doesn't seem afraid to be upstaged.
She strives for the integrity of the piece. She allows
Sykes a chance to shine here and the comedienne revels
in the piece. Sykes practically steals this movie
from the two top stars. If Fonda didn't have the hype
of returning to the screen after a fifteen year absence,
then Sykes would outshine her here. Sykes is funny
as hell. Sure, not every line she tosses out works,
but 90% of them do. Watching these three ladies at
the top of their game in this film makes it one of
the most fun movie-going events for girlfriends and
gay guys this year. Sit back, relax and enjoy the
fun that is "Monster-in-Law" The three women in this
film have so much to offer an audience. Here's hoping
there will be much more from all three of them on
the screen in the future.
Jane - I missed you!
Jennifer - I think your wonderful
in movies.
Wanda - you crack me up!
Notes:
The film's ending sets up room for
a sequel.
Fonda was going to return in Cameron
Crowe's "Elizabethtown" but took this role when filming
was delayed. Fonda's part then was filled by Susan
Sarandon.
Viewed in Austin in May of 2005
with my "girlfriend" Johnny Oh!
