Charlotte (Jennifer Lopez) is a poor girl who does it all – dog walker, caterer, yoga instructor, receptionist, you name it. She’s also working to find the man of her dreams, who arrives in the form of a surgeon, Dr. Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan) who comes attached to the apron strings of mother-from-hell, in the form of Jane Fonda. Fonda’s character Voila was a big TV talk show host whose career and son are everything, until she loses her job to a younger, prettier girl and finds solace in focusing on her son, because “family is everything”. Unfortunately her character doesn’t practice what she preaches. Next thing we know, mother is not happy about her future daughter in law. That’s when the fun starts. Aided by her assistant Ruby (Wanda Sykes) the two concoct ways to end the would-be marriage. Of course it may have been simpler had somebody informed mom that her son is marrying J Lo. Translation: A wedding won’t matter. She’ll be divorced in two weeks anyway. Movie-goers will be happy to see Fonda back on screen. Afterall, if Diane Keaton can make a comeback in “Something’s Gotta Give” so can Fonda, looking fantastic for her age and maintaining her 70s Fonda workout physique. Lopez is charming and the perfect underdog chemistry to offset Fonda’s mama diva role. If you liked “Maid In Manhattan” then you’ll love this same Cinderella story. It’s purely the demographics, however, that will sell this. Young women to see J Lo; older women to see Fonda. It’s that simple.
