Movie Review by Nigel A. Messenger
Starring: Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney, Ryan Reynolds, Lindsay Sloane
Director: Andrew Fleming
This is a remake of the 1979 film of the same name, this time with Michael Douglas taking Peter Falk’s role and Albert Brooks standing in for Alan Arkin.
Mark Tobias (Ryan Reynolds) and Melissa Peyser (Lindsay Sloane) are about to get married but although they seem to be well matched the two sets of parents are not, especially their two fathers. Melissa’s father Jerry (Albert Brooks) is a quiet, cautious man who’s a podiatrist by profession and to get straight to the point Mark’s father Steve (Michael Douglas) it turns out is actually a CIA agent who is currently on a mission and very quickly gets the reluctant Jerry involved with the plot putting them both in all sorts of dangerous situations with the police and the bad guys in hot pursuit.
THE IN-LAWS is a fairly light comedy that will probably pass through your local multiplex without making much of a splash, but it’s actually a lot of fun to watch and although the movie is virtually carried by Michael Douglas’s antics, Albert Brooks and the rest of the supporting cast all do a good job. Douglas really looks as if he is enjoying himself with this picture and that makes all the difference, which makes this remake of THE IN-LAWS an even better film than the original.
This isn’t a Farrelly brothers’ type comedy, it’s good for all the family, so try and make a space in between the summer blockbusters for some light comic relief.
