Cast: Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Candice Bergen, Ryan Reynolds, Lindsay Sloane, Robin Tunney, David Suchet, Maria Ricossa
Director: Andrew Fleming
Producers: Bill Gerber, Elie Samaha, Bill Todman Jr., Joel Simon
Screenplay: Nat Mauldin and Ed Solomon, based on the screenplay by Andrew Bergman
Cinematography: Alexander Gruszynski
Music: Lalo Schifrin
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
Technically, The In-Laws is a remake. However, although the 2003 version uses an identical premise and some of the same situations and character types as the original, this movie ventures into different territory, allowing the film to achieve an identity of its own apart from the "remake" label. The 1979 edition of The In-Laws is often regarded as an overlooked comedy classic, but, to be frank, it has not aged all that well. More then two decades after its release, it's still a funny film, but a lot of the comedy has gone flat. A remake, done right, was not a bad idea. And, fortunately in this case, it has been accomplished with some flair. The result is a lightweight source of entertainment that maximizes humor and minimizes serious stuff.
The primary reason why The In-Laws works is Albert Brooks. In considering whom to use in the straight man role occupied by the irreplaceable Alan Arkin in the original, the filmmakers faced a difficult task. Few can do deadpan better than Brooks, so he was a natural choice. Brooks rewards the filmmaker with the perfect delivery of every line of dialogue his character is given. There's no funnier moment in the film than when he plaintively pleads, "Don't rape me!"
Despite Brooks' importance to the film, The In-Laws is nevertheless being marketed as a Michael Douglas movie. Douglas plays Steve Tobias, a deep-cover CIA agent who is trying to prevent a French smuggler, Jean-Pierre Thibodoux (David Suchet), from getting his hands on a Russian sub. (Inexplicably, the submarine is currently submerged in Lake Michigan. The reason for this, and how it got there, is unexplained.) Steve's son, Mark (Ryan Reynolds), is about to marry Melissa Peyser (Lindsay Sloane), and, just as Steve is meeting Melissa's father, podiatrist Dr. Jerry Peyser (Brooks), all hell breaks loose. Soon, Steve is on the run from gangsters and the FBI, dragging the reluctant, anal Jerry along with him (this is a guy who "has an anxiety attack while watching an airline commercial"), and able to rely upon only his junior associate, Angela (Robin Tunney), for support.
The In-Laws' least successful scenes are the ones when it lampoons the outrageous action/adventure stunts found in the James Bond movies. This kind of material has been done a little too often for it to be amusing (although the use of "Live and Let Die" during the opening car chase is inventive). Most of the other 007-inspired comedy works well, primarily because of the way Brooks reacts to it. The way Jerry slips into the character of "Fat Snake" (as well as a hot tub with Jean-Pierre) is priceless.
Because Brooks is so good, it's easy to overlook the film's two other key off-kilter performances (although they are both over-the-top, whereas Brooks defines understated). The normally serious David Suchet, perhaps best known as Agatha Christie's "Poriot" in the TV series of the same name, takes on a rare comedic role as the swishy Jean-Pierre, who claims to despise homosexuality while ruthlessly pursuing Jerry. Candice Bergen plays Steve's bitchy ex-wife, who arrives at the wedding rehearsal with a Tibetan monk in tow. He's her spiritual adviser, although very little of what she does shows a Buddhist influence.
Music is a key aspect of the film, and, for the most part, it helps to liven things up. Several Paul McCartney songs are played (including the aforementioned "Live and Let Die"). KC and the Sunshine Band show up for a superfluous cameo. "Word Up" becomes the theme song of a brief fight scene. And B.J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" is used far more appropriately here than in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Comedies like this often fall apart when they attempt to inject character building and sentimentality into the storyline. There's some of that going on in The In-Laws. Steve learns to be a better father to his son, and Jerry loosens up (after being dragged half-way around the globe, taking a trip to Paris on Barbara Streisand's private jet, and parachuting into downtown Chicago, that's only expected). Fortunately, it's not overbearing, and some unalloyed silliness with a submarine torpedo keeps the ending on the suitably absurd side. The In-Laws may not be art, and there are some fans of the original who will find it difficult to warm to, but director Andrew Fleming has done a solid job updating it for the 2000s. The result is a movie that should entertain a fairly wide audience.
© 2003 James Berardinelli