The In-Laws

With its overblown script striving for maximum wackiness and cheap laughs, Andrew Fleming's espionage-and-matrimony comedy remake of Arthur Hiller's 1979 original (starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk) walks a thin line between funny and dumb in an inebriated stupor (butt-crack gags and unlikely explosions are the order of the day). But a threesome of smarter-than-the-screenplay comedic performances keep the flick punchy enough to earn fairly steady smiles. Albert Brooks is the anxiety-ridden father of the bride, who--while trying to micro-manage wedding plans--stumbles onto a covert operation of international intrigue and is dragged along on a dangerous mission by the father of the groom (Michael Douglas), a loose-cannon undercover CIA agent. The two make an entertaining odd couple, who are only occasionally upstaged back at the wedding by Candice Bergen as Douglas's bitter, unstable ex-wife. Some scenes shine with comedic polish; others are so ham-fisted they drag the cast down with them. Optional. [Note: Available in both widescreen and full screen editions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Andrew Fleming, a four-minute gag reel, three additional/alternate scenes (3 min.), two scenes of “Multiple Takes with Albert Brooks” (4 min. each), and trailers (including one for the original 1979 version of the film). Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)