The In-Laws (1979)

***

"While the Father of the Bride was extracting a molar from Mrs. Cohen, the Father of the Groom was extracting $20 Million from the U.S. Mint. And this was only the beginning."

I had absolutely no idea that this film was remade in 2003 with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks in the lead roles, I just knew that it had a great fun plot and a great cast and as i'm on sort of an Arkin high at the moment, it seemed highly appropriate.

Sheldon's (Alan Arkin) daughter is about to get married, but first he must meet the groom's father Vincent, played by Falk (Columbo). Vincent somehow manages to get Sheldon tangled up in his crazy lifestyle, apparently something to do with the CIA and so they both get dragged across Central America in a manic and fast paced film full of mishaps and bad guys.

While I absolutely love Alan Arkin and the majority of his work, I have to say that I was somewhat let down by this one, and the same goes for Arthur Hiller too.
I couldn't get behind the characters at all and although i'm not a massive fan of Meet the Parents, a film which was adapted from this one, it's still much funnier than The In-Laws. I never thought i'd come across an Arkin movie from the 70's that left me feeling a bit flat. Maybe that's a little harsh to say but it's just my opinion.

It was however nice to see David Paymer make a brief cameo as a taxi driver who also gets caught up in the action. I think it was his first appearance in any film.

How many gun shots are there in this movie too? I think it could be a contender for the most misfired shots in the history of cinema. It wasn't even funny in the end (if at all), it was just annoying hearing them going off every few seconds. Fitting though as the film is a bit of a misfire too.

"Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."