She looks edgy and fabulous as she commands another martini from Ruby. But do the filmmakers really think Viola would rather see her son with ambitious Fiona (Morgan Mazur), the sort of empty vessel that replaced her at the network?įonda does her part. Threatened by her only child’s new love, OK. What is it about the inability of films to envision what the vulnerability of a powerful woman might actually look like? Wounded, sure. Viola’s breakdown is no more believable than the one that sent Nicole Kidman’s character to the ‘burbs in last summer’s “Stepford Wives” remake. A woman on the verge of recovering from a nervous breakdown, Viola is threatened when she learns of her son’s new love. When a Britney Spears lookalike sends her over the edge, she winds up at a mental- health facility. She’s a woman who has mastered her domain – and a woman of a certain age who is about to get the heave-ho. A news anchor, she’s comfortable chatting up heads of state and bossing around her personal assistant Ruby (Wanda Sykes). Viola Fields would seem a perfect character to bring Fonda out of semi-retirement. “Stanley and Iris” with Robert De Niro was her last. Fifteen years have passed since the Academy Award winner appeared in a movie. The true draw of “Monster-in-Law” should have been Jane Fonda’s return to the big screen. “Monster-in-Law” stomps on actresses’ talents – The Denver Post Close Menu