Jane Fonda names “the only smart career” move she ever made
From the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the American film industry became dominated by a series of notable actors, and few were as iconic as Jane Fonda. Born to legendary actor Henry Fonda, Jane set about carving out a career of brilliance for herself with several memorable performances on screen.
The winner of two Academy Awards for her efforts in 1971’s Klute and 1978’s Coming Home, Fonda epitomised the brilliance of Hollywood, and her other revered turns in the likes of Julia, The China Syndrome and On Golden Pond are signifiers of her acclaimed status in front of the camera.
Despite the widespread acclaim that Fonda enjoyed throughout the first three decades of her career, in 1990, following a performance in Martin Ritt’s romantic drama Stanley and Iris, Fonda decided to take a break from acting. The hiatus ended up rolling on for around 15 years.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fonda explained that she had quit acting for a short while “because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.” Retirement from the industry coincided with the actor’s third marriage, that time to TV producer and entrepreneur Ted Turner, whom some believe prompted Fonda’s decision.
However, there looked to be something in Fonda that was not being fulfilled. “I don’t know about other actors, but for me, if I feel bad about myself, it’s hard for me to be creative,” she said. “So I just left for 15 years.” What followed was ten years of marriage with Turner, which Fonda admitted: “swept me away, and it was great.”
A decade later, though, the pair divorced, and Fonda spent another five years writing her memoirs, at which point she “realised I was a very different person.” Just a hint of the desire to return to acting sat inside the former Hollywood icon, and in 2005, she made her long-awaited return to the industry with the romantic comedy Monster-in-Law.
Fonda noted the moment she realised that she would return to her former profession. She said, “I said to myself, ‘I think I can find joy in acting again, and so I came back with the film Monster-in-Law, which was the only smart career thing I ever did. I thought, ‘People are going to come to the movie to see JLo, Jennifer Lopez, but they’ll rediscover Fonda, and that’s what happened.”
The public indeed rediscovered Jane Fonda in the Robert Luketic movie, which marked the beginning of Fonda’s renaissance. The film tells of the strained relationships between a soon-to-be-married couple and the groom’s overbearing mother-in-law-to-be, with Jennifer Lopez portraying the future wife and Fonda, the mother.
While the film was mostly heavily criticised in the press upon release, Fonda’s performance was praised, and the public quickly realised that she still had so much left to offer as an actor. It wasn’t long before she returned to Broadway with the play 33 Variations, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award.
Later, Fonda would go on to star in the likes of Youth, Our Souls at Night and the comedy series Grace and Frankie. Clearly, the Hollywood icon rediscovered her love for acting, and she largely owes it to the “smart decision” she made in taking on Monster-in-Law despite the film’s script not being the best that she’d ever worked with.
Check out the trailer for the film below.
