Hey folks, Harry here.... as all who read Hercules the Strong's brilliant writings, they know that Albert Brooks is so funny he made Herc piss himself while driving in L.A. Now, apparently Irish-Man had bladder control through the movie and was amused... So beware of spoilers and here ya go...
Hi everyone, top o’ the morning to you. Irish-man here with a review of the not-so-highly-anticipated “The In-Laws.” I saw this last month, but I’ve been so busy that I’m just now getting around to reviewing it. Sorry for the delay, so let’s jump right in.
The movie starts Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks as fathers whose children are about to be married to each other. They’ve never met, but they are all going to get together before the big wedding. The catch is that Michael Douglas is an undercover spy who drags Brooks’ multi-phobic podiatrist into his world of danger and intrigue. So that’s the premise, now how does it work out?
Well, I’ll say this: I like Michael Douglas, and I like Albert Brooks. And I liked them both in this movie. And I liked the actors playing their kids. Everything was very likeable in this movie, but that is actually kind of a problem. “The In-Laws” wants very much to be another “Analyze This” or “Meet the Parents.” You know, the “people that don’t like each other, but are forced to get along, even though they’re very different” type of movie. However, I feel that this particular incarnation doesn’t have any edge. No bite. By trying to appeal to every demographic, they make all the jokes very “safe.” They pull their punches constantly. The humor is very broad in this movie. There’s a gay weapons dealer. There’s a guy who’s afraid of heights forced to go in an airplane AND to the top of a skyscraper. The jokes can still be funny, but they can also be predictable and a little tired. You can anticipate what’s coming. Luckily, Douglas and Brooks do a good job of selling the situations so they’re not too stale. The result is a mildly enjoyable movie. It’s pleasant enough, but not very memorable.
Ryan Reynolds does a pretty good job as Douglas’s son and the upcoming groom. I’d like to see him in more movies that aren’t “Van Wilder.” Robin Tunney seems an odd choice for Douglas’s spy sidekick, but she does well enough. And Candice Bergen plays Douglas’s ex-wife, an aging new-age hippie that is given nothing to do and pretty much feels wasted in her small amount of screen time.
So to sum up this short review, most people will like this movie. Oddly, I think teenagers and their parents would both like it. Parents because the humor isn’t too risqué, and teenagers because, well, they’re just usually not as demanding with their movie standards. The average reader of this site will like it too. But the jokes are so tame and the situations so cliché, that most movie fans won’t be very impressed. It’s a decent enough film, but nothing extraordinary.
Until next time,
Irish-Man
