The In-Laws (2003)

Right before his daughter's wedding, a mild-mannered foot doctor discovers that his future son-in-law's father is a free-wheeling international spy.

Director:

Andrew Fleming

Writers:

Andrew Bergman (screenplay "The In-Laws"), Nat Mauldin (screenplay)

Stars:

Albert Brooks, Michael Douglas, Ryan Reynolds

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Steve Tobias
Michael Bodnar	...	Cherkasov's Bodyguard
Vladimir Radian	...	Cherkasov
Robin Tunney	...	Angela Harris
Albert Brooks	...	Jerry Peyser
Boyd Banks	...	Patient
Susan Aceron	...	Nurse
Lindsay Sloane	...	Melissa Peyser
Maria Ricossa	...	Katherine Peyser
Ryan Reynolds	...	Mark Tobias
Tseng Chang	...	Quan Le
Tamara Gorski	...	Yadira
Matt Birman	...	Agent at Restaurant
A. Russell Andrews	...	Agent Will Hutchins (as Russell Andrews)
Richard Waugh	...	Agent Thorn

Storyline

In four days, Jerry Peyser and Steve Tobias will become in-laws when their respective offspring, Melissa Peyser and Mark Tobias, get married. Married Jerry is a Chicago area podiatrist. He is risk averse to an extreme, afraid of heights including being in tall buildings and flying, even watching airline commercials. He is also extremely controlling, having organized the lavish wedding against the simple affair Melissa had envisioned. He is aggravated that he has not yet met Steve, who has missed one family function after another. Divorced Steve is a photocopy machine salesman... or so Mark says. In reality, Steve is a deep undercover CIA field agent, something that Mark knows but is unable to divulge to anyone, even Tracy and her family. His work, which has always overtaken his life, is the reason Steve has missed all these family events. Steve is unwilling to hand over reigns of his cases to his junior partner, the capable Angela Harris. Steve finally meets the Peysers, which Steve ...

---

Plot Keywords:

man wears eyeglasses | wedding | father in law | private jet | cia | 

---

Taglines:

He's not losing his daughter. He's gaining a madman.

---

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for suggestive humor, language, some drug references and action violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The working title for this movie was "'Til Death Do Us Part."

---

Goofs

The stolen Soviet submarine could not have appeared in Lake Michigan unnoticed because it would have to pass through several locks on the St Lawrence Seaway to get there.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
[as Jean-Pierre is being taken away by the police, he waves at Jerry]
Jean-Pierre Thibodoux: Call me!
Jerry Peyser: You know something? He might actually like prison.
Steve Tobias: Like it? He's gonna LOVE it!

---

Crazy Credits

As the end credits start, the camera moves out over the water. After a while, we see and hear Angela Harris (Robin Tunney) waving and calling for help.

---

Connections

References Live and Let Die (1973)

---

Soundtracks

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by B.J. Thomas
Original Scepter Records Recording
Courtesy of King Records, Inc.

User Reviews

A new "odd couple" is born with a new spy-film twist.

A new "odd couple" is born with a new spy-film twist.

Michael Douglas is Stephen Tobias, a rugged deep-cover CIA agent, who focuses more on his work that his life with his son, Mark (Ryan Reynolds) or his now ex-wife, Judy (Candice Bergen).

It turns out that Mark is about to get married to beautiful Melissa (Lindsay Sloane) but has yet to meet Mark's parents. Mark assures her that is a good thing. But Melissa's parents, Jerry (Albert Brooks) and Katherine (Maria Ricossa) insist on meeting at least Mark's father.

During the first meeting between Mark's father and Melissa's parents, mild-mannered foot-doctor Jerry stumbles in on one of Stephen's spy plans and finds himself swept up in Stephen's mess on the eve of his daughter's nuptials. How will this revelation effect the up-coming marriage and will the two fathers live long enough to get back to the wedding?

"The In-Laws" is one of the biggest surprises I have seen this year. I never thought in a million years that this film would be as funny as it is. The odd pairing of Brooks and Douglas pays off tenfold. Their odd pairing and hilarious antics made me think some of the classic film, "The Odd Couple". The film also reminded me a little of the 80s comedy, "Real Men" because of its off-beat way of bringing the audience into the story.

Brooks hasn't been this funny in years. His neurotic schtick, which is probably more famous when played by Woody Allen, gives his character such innocence. There were so many priceless moments involving Brooks and how he relates to the spy-world.

Douglas seems to have journeyed back to his Jack Colton character, which he played in "Romancing the Stone". There is definitely some of Colton in Tobias. You can really see it when Douglas allows Tobias to put his guard down. That was always the funniest part of Colton and it is the same for Tobias.

Another great thing about this film is the caliber of people who are in the cast. You have some great upcoming comedy actors like Reynolds and Sloane and on the other side veterans like Bergen and Brooks. I wanted to see more of Reynolds since he is such a great comedic find. I have high expectations for that guy. I also really enjoyed Sloane when she was in the short-lived WB series, "Grosse Pointe". I so miss that series. She to has a great potential to be more if given the chance in comedy.

This film knows where its strengths are and it continues the laughs over and over. I just wish we could have had more time with the supporting cast.

The film also has some interesting uses of music in its soundtrack. For instance the opening scenes involving Michael Douglas escaping from one of his spy missions involves a great car chase and a gun battle but the whole scene's overture is accented by Paul McCartney's infamous James Bond theme, "Live & Let Die". It is a great addition as it seems to help build the spy feeling of the scene. Throughout the film there are interesting musical additions, which help put interesting slants and accents on the various scenes.

"The In-Laws" was such a surprise and is by far the funniest movie I have seen this year, thus far. (4 out of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Production Notes

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English French Mandarin

Release Date:

23 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wedding Party

Filming Locations:

Showline Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,319,848, 25 May 2003

Gross USA:

$20,453,431

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,891,849

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franchise Pictures, Gerber Pictures, Furthur Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1