Monster-in-law (Jennifer Lopez)

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Someone recommended the 2005 film ‘Monster-in-law’ to my husband some time last year. So he put it on his wishlist, and was given it for Christmas. It claims to be a romantic comedy, and features a rather young-looking Jennifer Lopez. It also stars Jane Fonda, in what turns out to be her return to acting after a break of fifteen years.

Charlie (Charlotte) is the main character, portrayed extremely well by Jennifer Lopez. She has a series of different jobs, some of them temporary, all of them part-time. We see her walking dogs, working as a waitress, and working in a doctor’s office. She hasn’t had much success with romantic relationships but she has two very close friends who are convinced she needs a man in her life.

Never been kissed (Drew Barrymore)

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Once again we were tired. So we wanted to watch something light and not too long. We looked through some DVDs which we had not seen in a decade or so, and opted for the 1999 movie ‘Never been kissed’, which we last saw in February 2014.

Drew Barrymore - rather a young Drew Barrymore - stars in this light-hearted romantic comedy. I had entirely forgotten the storyline. Drew plays 25-year-old Josie Geller who has a good job with a newspaper, working as a copy editor. She’s quite pedantic, and evidently very good at what she does. She has her own office, and even an assistant, though he doesn’t seem to be much use. 

But Josie longs to write some stories for the paper. She’s proposed several ideas, most of which have been accepted - and then given to another writer. She’s almost in despair when the paper’s CEO, the rather authoritarian Rigfort (Garry Marshall) announces that their next big scoop is going to be an undercover expose of a high school. And he selects Josie to research and write the story. To do so, she has to pretend to be 17, and enrol in the local school…

Never been Kissed (Drew Barrymore)

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As so often happens, I don't recall why this DVD ended up on my wishlist. Perhaps it was because of the genre; perhaps it was recommending Drew Barrymore films. In any case, I was given it for Christmas - at the end of 2012! It sat on the ever-increasing to-be-watched shelf, and we finally saw it last night.

'Never been kissed' is firmly in the rom-com genre, produced in 1999. Romantic comedies were somehow lighter and cleaner in the 1990s, although it didn't feel that way at the time. Drew Barrymore was in her 20s when she starred in this, as Josie, a pedantic copy writer who longs to be a journalist.

She is finally given an undercover assignment to find a story at a local high school. So she has to behave as if she were 17, and enroll as a student, something that brings some quite painful flashbacks of her own rather nerdy high school days.

The story, it has to be said, is somewhat unlikely. The script a bit tired; while it was undoubtedly light, there weren't any laugh-aloud moments, and although the climax was a bit unexpected, the ending was (happily) predictable, if unlikely. Nevertheless, this is a nicely done film, with some good acting, and some rather shocking insights into American high schools, albeit (I assume) rather caricatured. At the point where Josie talks about how high school really hasn't changed, I can imagine some teens in this situation feeling quite challenged.

The 'love interest' is underplayed; not that this is necessarily a bad thing, and the scenes in the newspaper office seemed exaggerated, even silly at times. Perhaps the most interesting character in the film is Josie's brother Rob, ably portrayed by David Arquette.

Still, despite its flaws, we enjoyed this film. I would recommend it for anyone who likes this genre, and wants a fluffy hour and a half that's a bit different from the average rom-com. Rated 12, which I think is about right - there's no violence, no nudity, no intimacy, and I didn't even notice any bad language.

However, there are many discussions about sex, including one mildly humorous scene in the classroom... to say more would be a spoiler. I doubt if this would be of any interest to anyone under the age of about 14 in any case.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews