DVD Review - Monster-in-Law

As an esteemed television journalist put out to pasture by the networks and faced with the engagement of her son, Jane Fonda is fierce, funny, and ready to rumble as the title character in Monster-in-Law in a way that the rest of the film itself never really is. Jennifer Lopez, the film's other above-the-title star, is set to marry handsome, wealthy Michael Vartan but has one helluva time dealing with his insanely possessive mother. The result is pretty much what you'd expect--lots of snarls and slapstick and an easy, kisses-all-around conclusion, though it is surprising (and maybe a little disheartening) to watch Fonda throw herself into such disposable comedy with such gusto. Director Robert Luketic, who slept while Reese Witherspoon tottered off with his Legally Blonde, once again relies solely on the assembled talent: He leaves a high-wattage Lopez playing things a little too cute, a reedy Vartan looking visibly disinterested, and canny comedian Wanda Sykes making what she can--which, luckily, is a lot--of her role as Fonda's wisecracking personal assistant (the type of black sidekick role that's an indication of how creakily formulaic the film is). See it for Fonda, if you feel like it, then wish her a better engagement in the future. --Steve Wiecking

DVD Review - The Ring Two (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Customer Review

You'll get involved with this Ring.

The first film was based on the Asian version, RINGU (1998). Americans made their own version, THE RING (2002). It really wasn't all that eerie and a girl with long black hair coming out of a television set like a cat just didn't scare me a bit. It put me to sleep.

The powers-that-be decided to make a sequel. I even passed by it at Blockbuster Video, but this DVD version is the unrated version, so I decided to give it a try.
Naomi Watts and David Dorfman return for the second go-around. All right, I got into the storyline this time. Even though I have had enough of "evil-kid" movies.
Instead of giving a review, here are my thoughts during the film: The boy, David Dorfman, reminds me of a young former Vice-President Dan Quayle. Simon Baker as "Max" had me thinking of Dominic West. The woman cutting paper, with all due respect, looked like Loretta Lynn (the facial features not the movie character), but of course, it was Sissy Spacek. And yes, Sissy Spacek looked like Loretta Lynn now than she did 25 years ago in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980).

Spoiler: The best ending you could want for this film. I think the viewers are satisfied.

DVD includes in Special Features many extras, including 9 minutes of deleted scenes.

DVD Review - Meet The Fockers (Widescreen Edition)

Meet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and watch the in-laws clash as Gaylord squirms. As with the original, there is a sense of joy in watching these actors take on their roles with obvious relish, and the Hoffman-Streisand-Stiller triumvirate is likeable enough to draw you in. But the formula doesn't work as well in Fockers mostly because much of the humor is based on two obvious gimmicks: Gaylord Focker's name, and the fact that Streisand's character is a sex therapist. As a result, the movie itself is more contrived and predictable, and a lot less fun than the original. The casting is grand, but one wishes more thought was put into the script.--Dan Vancini