More than 18 years later, are Kevin and Charlie still married? Did Viola manage to prolong her change of heart and not revert back into being the possessive-and-a-little-bit-homicidal snob who doesn't believe any woman is good enough for her son? (Seriously, you don't mess with a girl's nut allergy...)
Well, regardless of the couple's long-term prospects, at least Monster-in-Law—starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda as the fiancée Charlie and the mother-of-the-groom Viola battling over Michael Vartan, the Dr. Perfect who somehow thinks the two favorite women in his life are getting along fine—ended happily.
Whether or not Vartan's Kevin was great enough to merit this battle of wills is beside the point, even if now we might prefer seeing a Charlie-shaped hole in the door because she's running away from this unhealthy scenario as fast as she can, with Wanda Sykes' Ruby driving the getaway car.
But there are reasons for Viola's breakdown, even if her actions venture into the pathological, and if you dig deep enough beneath this film's woman vs. woman exterior, you can find the feminist edge.
And even if you can't, it's a hoot, featuring the return of Fonda from her premature retirement and the kind of cinematic justice that a rom-com heroine like J.Lo deserves.
So in honor of this very rewatchable burst of eye candy, here are 15 things to know about Monster-in-Law:
This story was originally published on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 6 a.m. PT.