The In-Laws (1979)
Director: Arthur Hiller
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Never mind the remake, this is the real deal, a formula comedy raised to heights of hilarity by the kind of off-beam lunacy which probably wouldn't get past the studio suits these days. Bergman's screenplay melds odd-couple and fish-out-of-water templates, as their children's forthcoming wedding brings together maverick undercover operative Falk and fastidious New York dentist Arkin, pitching both into potentially lethal circumstances as the CIA man plans to sell US Treasury printing plates to a dubious Central American republic. Falk's unflappable whimsicality is put to excellent use, Arkin commands sundry shades of blind panic, and if the car chases sustain the widely held belief that Arthur Hiller could not direct traffic, the script's out-of-nowhere zingers are wonderful. We won't spoil the fun but look out for the tin-pot dictator's little 'friend', and chuckle for days afterwards at the hitherto unsuspected comic fecundity of the word 'serpentine'.Author: TJ
Cast & crew
Director: Arthur Hiller
Producer: William Sackheim, Arthur Hiller
Cast: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser, Arlene Golonka, Michael Lembeck, Ed Begley Jr, James Hong, David Paymer full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 103 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now