The In-Laws

When I was 10 years old, my family and I went to see "The In-Laws" in Florida, and we all had so much fun laughing and howling. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are such a perfect pair in this classic comedy and they are just so inimitable. Falk is the crazed CIA agent, Arkin is the meek dentist, together, when their children plan to marry, Arkin gets involved in Falk's espionage adventures south of the border. Character actor Richard Libertini, a familiar face to many comedies with his bald pate, thick beard, and zany accents, adds to the fun as the Latin dictator who makes hand gestures with eyemakeup and lipstick drawn to his hand to the two guys in one hilarious scene. The best line of the movie is "Serpentine!" Recently, I found on the internet that Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks are going to mimic these greats in an upcoming remake with the same title as the original. Many people posted messages that they were outraged that the regularly dramatic Douglas and the dryly funny Brooks are not only reprising their roles, but also poorly copying them. Audiences at previews were equally angry and predict that the remake will fall flat on its face and there just will never, ever be another Falk and Arkin. Every actor has his/her own persona, and it is highly forced and unnatural when one actor tries to duplicate another actor's persona.

I wasn't expecting much when I went to this movie. The plot is silly and outrageous. What makes it, however, are the performances of Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. Fall is a person's worst nightmare. Totally sure that no matter how crazy things get, you will always land on your feet. Arkin is the opposite, scared of his own shadow and wanting to avoid any sort of strain or physician exertion. As soon as they meet, everything goes a hundred miles an hour. Arkin ends up in a confrontation with some Latin American soldier who talks to his own hand and is absolutely unbalanced. The result is slapstick and funny. The soldier is so wacko that Arkin is absolutely done in.

I'm a big Peter Falk fan, so I watched this movie because he was in it. I was in for quite a surprise. It has quickly become one of my favorite comedies of all. Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are a perfect pair. The great thing about this movie is that it seems to invent itself as it goes along. The movie isn't following any type of formula, it's making itself up as it goes along, or so it seems. Very funny. My rating: 10

Alan Arkin and Peter Falk made a great comic duo in this classic comedy. Each one bounces off the other in excellently timed humor.

The story is wild and off the wall. Peter Falk's secret agent guy is too, and he has you and co-star Alan Arkin guessing whether he is a legitimate government agent, or some kind of schizophrenic maniac. The two are the respective dads of two soon to be wed kids, and their shenanigans take precedence over their offspring and the upcoming nuptials. Arkin's straight-laced everyman who rapidly waxes panicky, then neurotic due to being suddenly cast in the bizarre world of Falk makes for brilliantly hilarious contrast between the two.

Needless to say, Falk is on a case and gets Arkin inexorably caught up in the situation, which soon degenerates into a wild romp with loud explosions, shootings, and other confusion. The "Serpentine!" routine is a classic of riotous buffoonery.

Falk and Arkin understand comedy, and manipulate it well. Their comic chemistry is worthy of comparison to some of the classic duos over the years, as they ping-pong the lunacy back and forth with expert timing and delivery. This original is far better than its recent remake, and is recommended.

If you were ever stuck on a desert island with a TV, VCR (and, let's assume, a power source), this would definitely be one of the movies you would like on hand to jolly your solitary time away. It is an insanely funny film that compares favorably with the classic screwball comedies of yesteryear. Only instead of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, we get Alan Arkin and Peter Falk. Although they don't quite function as a romantic duo, the pairing of the characters of Dr. Shelly Kornpett, as the deadpan, increasingly desperate dentist, with Vince Ricardo, as a renegade CIA agent extraordinaire, works wonderfully. Along with everyman Shelly, you will be sucked into the zany, alternate world of agent Ricardo. See it with friends or loved ones, because this is the kind of movie that you will be quoting to one another long after you see it. Just remember to serpentine!