thejcowboy22 Straight and narrow New York Dentist Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin)is reaching an exciting time in his life. It the upcoming wedding of his pride and joy daughter Barbara to Tommy Ricardo.Tommy has parents and it's not so much about Tommy but it's the IN-LAWS. Mainly Tommy's eccentric off the wall seat of his pants C.I.A. government agent Father Vince (Peter Falk). Vince after meeting the Kornpett's for the first time at their home goes off to their basement. Plants some evidence in the Kornpett"s basement. The next day Mrs Kornpett discovers the piece of evidence and calls in the government agents. That same day Vince interrupts our Dentist during his busy time,(office filled with patience's) and asks him for a small favor if he could leave his office for a few minutes, break into his office and retrieve something. One thing leads to another and the two are off and running. They drive around a Manhattan as thugs or counterspies chase them. When the two Vince and Shel find out that his home is swarming with agents wanting some answers it's off to Titerboro airport. Just a thought, Vince reminds me of a pushy classmate who makes you do stuff you wouldn't normally attempt. Vince is so matter-of-fact and is never phased by any anything that is thrown his way. Next it's off on a private jet with friendly Asian crew and plenty of magazines. Shel and piloted by Vince fly to some off the map Latin country where their national flag is that of a Naked woman. Our Dentist is overwhelmed and inconsolable and wondering how he ever got mixed up with this so call agent who has a knack for criminal tendencies. Upon their arrival,things go from bad to worse as the two are being shot at by Nationals on the tarmac as Vince suggests that Sheldon serpentine to avoid the onslaught of bullets.They get a room at a downtown fleabag hotel. Vince claims, "You've done enough Sheldon and I really appreciate that so wait here and I'll go off to meet the Dictator by myself." Sheldon has a bad feeling and comes along anyway. Next our two meet the dictator/Presidente of the country and have a nice lunch as Sheldon asked, "The food is exquisite, "Can I get the recipe?" Unfortunately Sheldon and Vince can't share the gourmet fare because after dessert it's off to the firing squad for execution. This all reads bad on paper but it's all laughs from start to finish. Will the father of the bride make the wedding in time. Will the father of the groom think of a way out. No matter what decision is made it's all comedy.

jzappa The In-Laws is definitely not a movie for anyone keen on particulars. Like most of Arthur Hiller's work, it is, at best, a cheerful muddle, and it gets off to a mucky start. A Federal security truck is robbed, with the theft engineered by Peter Falk. But hold on a sec. The truck is resplendent with money, and the thieves don't even want it. They're after something else. This is the first of a few new creases.It's dinnertime, and Falk and Arkin are meet for the first time. Arkin's daughter is to be married just a day or two later to the mastermind's son, though much will transpire between now and then. Falk is somewhat vague about his work. But he talks about Guatemala, tells some stories about giant tse-tse flies. The next day, he's more frank: he mentions he's with the CIA. That probably accounts for the autographed picture of JFK in his office, a picture that involves something he did in Cuba.Very soon, Falk has Arkin mixed up in a Federal crime and aboard a small plane with a two-man Chinese crew. Soon they're in a Carribbean hotel, with a lobby beset with live chickens. Then they're visiting a friend of Falk's, a crazy General, whose art collection Arkin is softly warned to appreciate. Further script elements incorporate stolen US treasury mint, gangland thugs, and a South American dictatorship and its unhinged leader who channels Mr. Garrison qualities and is played by the too hilarious Richard Libertini.Andrew Bergman has written a comedy script that accelerates gradually and crisply, and endows its leads with great clear-cut farce, so that even if the material falters, the manic on-screen presence of able comic actors will be all we could ask of it. For instance, Arkin is one of the funniest men in the movies, and most of his most side-splitting moments come from the pure spontaneity of his reactions to what happens to him, which is not something a script could provide. Only an actor. Under Hiller's simplistic and satisfactory direction, everything keeps going swiftly enough to stump audience misgivings about plotting, aggravatingly inconsistent character development and a briskly condensed time frame.

edwagreen Inane farce with Peter Falk involving future in-law Alan Arkin is a CIA romp.The chase scenes and shootings become actually annoying in this film which lacks real humor. When our two heroes meet a dictator of Honduras, he tells them that his army people once worked as security guards for J.C. Penney? This is supposed to be funny. Methinks not.For the straight dentist Arkin portrays, after a while, he seems to be enjoying himself and does pretty well in dodging bullets along the way.The only funny scene here is that woman left with the cement in her mouth as the two fools make their escapade. Maybe, she succeeds because she is quiet. This is what the rest of the film should have been like.

sddavis63 This is a movie that definitely has its moments. I have to give credit to Peter Falk, who put on a very strong performance as Vince Ricardo, a CIA agent whose son is getting married to the daughter of a pretty straight-laced dentist (Dr. Kornpett - Alan Arkin) who has trouble dealing with his future in-law's apparent eccentricities but ends up on a mission with him in Central America. The car chase scene is one of the better car chases I can remember in a movie, and the scene when Ricardo and Kornpett end up in front of the firing squad is worth a few laughs. I did think that Arkin came across as a bit too low-key in this movie (although he also had his moments) and to me the movie really weakened once they arrived in Central America and began to deal with a truly bizarre (to the point of being unbelievable) general (Richard Libertini) who has come up with a plan to print all the US currency he could possibly ever want.It's largely fun to watch this, although to be honest I thought this was one of the few occasions when I would say that the remake (the really over the top 2003 version with Michael Douglas in Falk's role) was actually both stronger and funnier than the original. Still, there's nothing particularly wrong with this. It's a fun movie that will keep you entertained. 6/10