Jane Fonda opens up about how one movie, 2005's Monster-in-Law, helped reboot her career after her controversial retirement in the '90s. The romantic comedy revolved around temp worker and aspiring fashion designer Jennifer Lopez's Charlie Cantilini as she meets and falls in love with Michael Vartan's doctor Kevin Fields. After a few months of dating and a surprise engagement announcement, Charlie believes her future to be bright, only to realize she must contend with Kevin's overbearing mother, Fonda's Viola, a former talk show host who recently got out from an and drub rehab after attacking a guest on-air.
Alongside Lopez, Fonda and Vartan, the cast for Monster-in-Law included Wanda Sykes, Adam Scott, Monet Mazur, Annie Parisse, Will Arnett, Elaine Stritch and Stephen Dunham. Helmed by Legally Blonde's Robert Luketic on a script from Anya Kochoff, the rom-com received largely negative reviews from critics for its lackluster writing, Lopez's underwhelming performance and uninteresting side characters. Despite this, Fonda herself would receive rave reviews for her performance and Monster-in-Law would go on to become a box office smash, grossing over $154 million against its $43 million production budget.
Ahead of the premiere of the final season of Grace and Frankie, Jane Fonda caught up with Vanity Fair to break down her career timeline. The actress looked back on her time with Monster-in-Law, crediting the film with helping reboot her career after she controversially retired to focus on her marriage. See what Fonda shared below:
“Monster-In-Law was probably the most strategic career thing I ever did. I had left the business because I married Ted Turner, and you don’t work, you can’t do both at once, so I quit the business, didn’t miss it, not for a moment. Ted and I split up, I wrote a book and then when I finished the book, I thought, ‘Oh, I’d like to get back to acting.’ A script came along called Monster-In-Law and my part was really exciting and it was with Jennifer Lopez and people were going to see it because of Jennifer Lopez. And then they were going to discover or rediscover Jane Fonda and that’s what happened and it was a hugely successful movie that’s still beloved by people. When I see some girls walking towards me and they recognize me and they start, I know exactly — forget Klute and Julia and all the rest of it, Monster-In-Law, that’s the one they love. [Laughs] And it was great, Jennifer was really fun to work with and we got along great.”
Long before Monster-in-Law hit theaters, Fonda had made a name for herself both in Broadway and in film in the '60s and '70s with acclaimed roles in such films as Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park and Barbrella. Fonda's stardom would further rise with the 1969 psychological drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, her first step into the world of dramas and garnering her first Oscar nomination, following it up with two wins for her work in Klute and Coming Home. The '80s would prove as successful for Fonda as she starred in a string of hits, including Fun with Dick and Jane, Julia, On Golden Pond and 9 to 5 with Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton.
Fonda's retirement from acting in 1991 came at a time in which she starred in back-to-back failures Old Gringo and Stanley & Iris and had married billionaire media mogul Ted Turner, for whom she was married to for a decade before their divorce. While Monster-in-Law may not have been a critical darling, the film was largely considered a financial hit at the time and put Fonda back on the acting path, eventually culminating in her most recent work, Netflix's Grace and Frankie, for which she's scored widespread acclaim and earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2017. While audiences await the final season of the comedy series, they can revisit Monster-in-Law streaming on Netflix now.
Source: Vanity Fair