The In-Laws

Written by Andrew Bergman (co-writer of Blazing Saddles) and directed in a low-key manner by the late Arthur Hiller, the original 1979 The In-Laws, starring Alan Arkin as a Long Island dentist and Peter Falk as a CIA agent, remains one of the funniest American comedies of its time. Arkin, who initiated the project as an opportunity to work with Falk, plays Sheldon Kornpett, a father of the bride who tries to hide his exasperation with the groom's dad, Vince, who is played by Falk as a cousin to his Columbo character: schlubby, garrulous, keeping up a steady stream of small talk, crazy stories, and confessions in a calming, reassuring, gravelly tone as he drags Sheldon into danger. Vince is masterminding a federal robbery as part of an operation to quash a plot against the U.S. by the possibly insane dictator (Richard Libertini) of a small Caribbean island nation, and he ropes Sheldon into the scheme. Arkin is at his sardonic, stone-faced, and dumbfounded best, while Falk spins in his own orbit, yet Libertini almost steals his scenes as the dictator with dreams of being a nightclub ventriloquist, performing before an audience that dares not tell him how bad he is. Extras include a cast and crew audio commentary from 2003, plus new interviews with Arkin and costars Ed Begley Jr., Nancy Dussault, James Hong, and David Paymer, as well as a booklet with an essay by comedy writer Stephen Winer. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)