On its surface, Robert Luketic's comedy is mildly entertaining. Jane Fonda, who returns to the screen after a long absence, clearly has fun playing the overbearing momma of Jennifer Lopez's fiancé, and the film moves fast enough to make you forget you've seen this meet-the-parents scenario many times before. Yet there's something unseemly about two grown women fighting over a man (even a hottie like Michael Vartan), especially when the film strains to tell us how smart and wonderful both gals are. As such, the story would have been better served if the writers had gone for believable but biting parlor spats (Oscar Wilde managed it) rather than dredging up slapstick left over from
Home Alone. J. Lo is comedic dead weight -- why can't the underappreciated and funny Wanda Sykes, who plays Fonda's assistant here, have her role? There's a daughter-in-law who would never resort to a weepy final-reel group hug.
Starts Fri., May 13.