25 years before Robert DeNiro terrorized Ben Stiller in "Meet the Parents" and its two sequels, it was the bride's father terrorized here, ironically by the groom's papa, and he loves it! At first bride papa Alan Arkin thinks groom papa Peter Falk is a lunatic, but the adventure Arkin ends up on wakes him up and brings out his adventurous side, having lacked it in his life as a Manhattan dentist. Falk is involved in a bizarre plot involving the American treasury and a few South American countries, one of them who has a truly wacky dictator (Richard Libertini). From a shoot-out in mid-day midtown Manhattan to a sudden trip to Libertini's country, Arkin and Falk not only risk missing the wedding but their lives as well, desperate to get back in time to give the bride and groom a wedding day that they will never forget.
Fast-moving, funny, adventurous, and a definite crowd pleaser, this variation of the "Silver Streak" theme (two opposites paired together in some bizarre caper) is perfectly cast with the dead-pan Arkin not quite so staid but in need of some zest in his life, and Falk a fun-loving lunatic with bizarre qualities of his own who brings Arkin out of his shell. Libertini, the dictator with a "Senor Wences" like hand puppet, has his Spanish speaking army singing American ditties while having a business lunch. TV and Broadway favorite Nancy Dussault ("Too Close For Comfort") has some nice moments as Arkin's suburban wife.
A chase through Manhattan is worth seeing just for visions of how the city has (and has not) changed over the past 30 years. Having seen this in the theatre back in 1979, I had remembered the chemistry between Falk and Arkin, which hasn't depleted, and its bouncy musical theme, one which out of nowhere would pop into my head over the years even though I hadn't seen it since then.
Fast-moving, funny, adventurous, and a definite crowd pleaser, this variation of the "Silver Streak" theme (two opposites paired together in some bizarre caper) is perfectly cast with the dead-pan Arkin not quite so staid but in need of some zest in his life, and Falk a fun-loving lunatic with bizarre qualities of his own who brings Arkin out of his shell. Libertini, the dictator with a "Senor Wences" like hand puppet, has his Spanish speaking army singing American ditties while having a business lunch. TV and Broadway favorite Nancy Dussault ("Too Close For Comfort") has some nice moments as Arkin's suburban wife.
A chase through Manhattan is worth seeing just for visions of how the city has (and has not) changed over the past 30 years. Having seen this in the theatre back in 1979, I had remembered the chemistry between Falk and Arkin, which hasn't depleted, and its bouncy musical theme, one which out of nowhere would pop into my head over the years even though I hadn't seen it since then.