| | | The cake is going to hit the fan.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, French, Spanish, Subtitled, Commentary
Family matters. Laughing matters. They're all a matter of laugh or death as Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks play opposites thrust together by their children's wedding and by CIA agent Douglas' involvement in an arms-smuggling sting operation, plunging mild-mannered podiatrist Brooks into the world of international intrigue.
"Smooth comic chemistry." Mike Clark, USA Today
"Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas are terrific together." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"Hot Ticket It's Funny!" Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
Editor's Note
In 1979, Alan Arkin and Peter Falk starred in the classic comedy THE IN-LAWS, in which Arkin played a timid dentist who gets involved in dangerous government intrigue--or with the ravings of a lunatic--when he meets Vincent Ricardo (Falk), the father of the man Arkin's daughter is going to marry. That hysterical situation is back with Andrew Fleming's riotous remake, with Albert Brooks as Jerry Peyser, a podiatrist who gets more than he ever could have bargained for when his daughter, Melissa (Lindsay Sloane), gets engaged to Mark (Ryan Reynolds), whose father, Steve Tobias (Michael Douglas), claims to be a spy and involves Jerry in some very questionable--and very funny--situations. Douglas and Brooks make a great comedic duo. The outstanding cast in this wild romp also includes Candice Bergen as Judy, the mother of the groom; Maria Nicossa as Katherine, the mother of the bride; and David Suchet as Jean-Pierre Thibodoux, a villain who believes Jerry to be criminal mastermind Fat Cobra. The soundtrack includes well-known 1970s pop songs as well as new music from Paul McCartney.
| Features | Additional Scenes | | Audio: English, French Dolby 5.1 Surround | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Widescreen Version Enhanced For 16x9 TVs | | Multiple Takes of 2 Riotous Sequences with Albert Brooks | | Jump Feet First into a Hilarious Gag Reel | | Theatrical Trailers of this and the 1979 Original | | Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Director Andrew Fleming | | Deleted Scenes | | Easter Eggs |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 9/25/2007 |
| Running Time: 98 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 24668 | | UPC: 00085392466825 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...[With] Michael Douglas at his most energetic and James Bond-like..." 05/12/2003 p.26-9Box Office
"...Douglas and Brooks deliver fine work..." 07/01/2003 p.44 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
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. - James Berardinelli
San Francisco Chronicle 7 of 10
The In-Laws is not so much a remake as a complete reimagining of the 1979 comedy of the same name starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. The original has gone into legend, but the new one stacks up nicely in comparison--a straight comedy made from an action-comedy hybrid. - Mick LaSalle
Chicago Sun-Times 5 of 10
The In-Laws is an accomplished but not inspired remake of a 1979 comedy which was inspired and so did not need to be accomplished. The earlier movie was slapdash and at times seemed to be making itself up as it went along, but it had big laughs and a kind of lunacy. The remake knows the moves but lacks the recklessness. - Roger Ebert
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