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The In-Laws (Full Screen Edition)

The In-Laws (Full Screen Edition)

List Price: $19.97
Your Price: $17.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I found this movie to be hilarious! It's about two men who are about to be in-laws. One is an undercover member of the CIA. The other is a stuffy, chicken podiatrist. The CIA member takes the podiatrist on one of his missions.
This movie is like Meet the Parents with more action. Both of the stars are perfect for their roles. Michael Douglas is really funny. Albert Brooks is perfect for the role of the podiatrist. He has the perfect voice for histarical yelling, as proven in this movie and in Finding Nemo.
An absolutely great movie! Two thumbs up!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: lamebrained remake
Review: "The In-Laws" provides 90-plus minutes of pure, unadulterated imbecility. This ersatz farce is a remake of the 1979 hit starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk - material which, if this were a perfect world, would have been left rotting in the bargain bin of your local video store where it belongs. Instead, writers Nat Mauldin and Ed Solomon and director Andrew Fleming have seen fit to remount it, this time with Michael Douglas as the CIA agent who's been too busy out saving the world to forge a meaningful relationship with his son, and Albert Brooks as the uptight, neurotic podiatrist who learns he has to "stop and smell the roses" and live life to the full. The paths of these two mismatched men cross when their children decide to get married.

"The In-Laws" makes the mistake common to so many "madcap" comedies: it believes that by keeping the action moving along at a breakneck pace, we somehow won't notice that there really isn't anything all that terribly funny going on. The film could have been a riotous take-off on inter-familial complications (like "Meet the Parents"), but instead it degenerates into an anachronistic and wearying spy-spoof with the characters forced again and again into ridiculous and preposterous slapstick situations. The actors do their best under the circumstances, but the non-stop, frantic dithering on the part of both Douglas and Brooks becomes rather tiring after awhile.

This is one wedding you will definitely not want to attend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Movies don't all have to have "lessons" or deep meanings!
Review: A good movie is a like a good book, a means to escape. The older I get, the more I enjoy watching something that is just plain funny. I don't want to be sad, I don't want to have to concentrate on a movie with a lot of metaphors and hidden meanings. I don't want murders, rapes, heart breaks or pain and suffering. Sometimes it's fun to watch a movie that is just pure entertainment and THE IN-LAWS fits the bill. Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks play the fathers of a couple who are about to be married. The only problem is that the dull, neurotic, germ obsessed, fanny pack wearing foot doctor becomes involved with CIA agent Douglas's secret life. Here begin laughs that don't stop until the movie is over. In fact, I laughed until I cried and trust me, it is wonderful to be that happy! What an escape!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Save the money - Rent the original
Review: A poorly done remake. There are a few laughs but I have some advice. Save the money and apply it to renting the original. No matter how many times you have seen it, the original is better!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Second Time Around
Review: A remake, especially those that follow outstanding performances of their predecessor, often fall short of achieving the same level of greatness. Released in May 2003 by Warner Brothers and directed by Andrew Fleming, this adaptation of the movie The In-Laws (1979) had "big shoes to fill". The original film starred the comedy duo Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, who played the fathers of the prospective bride and groom. Thrown together before their children tied the knot, Falk, who played an on-again/off-again CIA agent takes Arkin, a naïve somewhat neurotic dentist, on a crazy adventure in his world of espionage on the eve their children's wedding.

In the latest version of this action comedy, the plot follows this same line. Steve Tobias (Michael Douglas), an undercover CIA agent sometimes arms dealer, drags Jerry Peyser (Albert Brooks), a mild-mannered podiatrist who is obsessed with giving his daughter the "perfect" wedding, across the Atlantic to "broker a deal" with a French drug lord, Jean-Pierre Thibodoux (David Suchet). Tobias's entanglement with unsavory characters of the underworld and being constantly tailed by a flock of FBI agents combined with traditional wedding settings provides the audience with some hilarious situations. Douglas does an excellent job with his deadpan delivery, somewhat reminiscent of his performance in Romancing the Stone, while Brooks is a perfect foil for him as he peppers the film with his somewhat phobic antics. Angela (Robin Tunney), Tobias's sidekick in his world of espionage, often outwits a befuddled Jerry Peyser in these madcap adventures. Rounding out the cast is Candice Bergen, as ex-wife Judy, Lindsay Stone, as the bride-to-be, and fiancé Ryan Reynolds.

The chemistry between Douglas and Brooks evolves over the course of the movie while Arkin and Falk clicked on all cylinders from the beginning. Even though this movie does not surpass its predecessor, it was entertaining none the less. Fleming did a good job of incorporating music to fit each scene. The In-Laws runs 95 minutes and it is a movie that provides pure entertainment without nudity and repetitive violence. Sit back and enjoy this film, even if it the "second time around."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "I'm going to Paris with Barbra Streisand!"
Review: An "Odd Couple"-like premise, combined with a stellar cast, is most likely to make "The In-Laws" the runaway box-office blockbuster of the summer. The film's two main stars, Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks, whose roles play off one another extremely well, you'd think they acted together previously. Brooks' Felix character plays comic foil to Douglas's Oscar-type persona, which provides great spontaneous comedy. Steve Tobias (Douglas) is a rogue-like CIA agent, who is nonchalantly paired with one of Chicago's top podiatrists, Jerry Peyser (Brooks), who falls prey to Tobias's scheme, and Peyser is "recruited" as a "fait-accompli" into Tobias's plans. The result is a mulligan's stew of chaos, as our heroes are jettisoned to and fro, to France and back to the U.S.A. - creating many memorable moments along their crazy journey. The plot leaves behind many hilarious scenes in its wake. For instance, the scenes where Brooks' character is somewhat "paired" with a gay Frenchman (especially the one where Jerry Peyser is in the jacuzzi with him, and showing a rather portly backside is priceless. Another scene where both Peyser and Tobias are on top of the John Hancock Building is also of grandesque proportions, where they take a flying leap off Chicago's second tallest structure, all while getting a birds-eye view of the city at night, eventually landing next to the famous orange sculpture on State Street (which can also be seen in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", for those keeping tabs on movie trivia). These are just a few surprises, but there are others just waiting to be seen at your local theater. Although Michael Douglas's prior feature "It Runs In The Family" garnered only a lukewarm reception from moviegoers, "The In-Laws", is most likely to get Mr. Douglas the props he deserves, as this is sure to have cash registers ringing like mad at theaters around the country. So, take your in-laws (or your immediate family) to see these "In-Laws" today!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The absolute WORST!!!!!!!!
Review: Awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful!!!! DO NOT waste your valubable time seeing this excrutiating remake when you can rent (or buy!!!) the classic original. I did not laugh once during this whole rotten mess, and neither did anyone else in the theater. Granted, there were only about forty people there...
I question the very sanity of people who give this film more than one star. Obviously, I'd give it zero if that were possible. Long live Alan Arkin and Peter Falk! Serpentine!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: not a comedy
Review: Being unfamiliar with the 1979 version, I thought this movie was a comedy. I was unaware it was more of a spy movie than anything else. I was disappointed. I was expecting more of a FATHER OF THE BRIDE type story line.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I didn't expect to enjoy this movie so much. Hilarious! Every line worked and the casting perfect. Definitely recommend.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Its all in the family!!!
Review: I have not seen the original so I cannot draw any comparisons. This film was a fair entertainer. Douglas, Brooks, and Candice Bergan manage to draw some laughs.

The film has its share of consistent moments. The prime focus is on Douglas and Brooks whose children are going to be married. The laughs are elicited by combining the two opposites - Douglas as a fearless, deep undercover CIA agent and Brooks as a podiatrist who lives by the book. Brooks has acrophobia and most of Douglas' activities involve jumping from heights, flying, partying on the top story of the tallest building in the city, etc. Their intolerance for each other and yet being situated together through the film to later form a mutual admiration is the crux of the story.

Based on the technicalities (plot, presentation, etc.) this movie may get three stars, however, I liked it enough to give it a 4. So check it out, it's not too bad.


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