Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The In-Laws (2003) - Fine cast fuel amusing hijinks in under-appreciated remake

11/19/2024

The In-Laws (2003) - Fine cast fuel amusing hijinks in under-appreciated remake

♥♥♥♥

A festive matrimonial gathering of Hollywood stars make up the poster for Andrew Fleming's The In-Laws

A young couple are getting married, and their parents are finally about to meet: But her foot doctor father and his CIA hotshot father get closer to each other, than anyone could have guessed on this eventful weekend.

The In-Laws is written by Nat Mauldin (Downtown (1990)) and Ed Solomon (Charlie's Angels (2000)) and directed by Andrew Fleming (Bad Dreams (1988)). It is a remake of Andrew Bergman's same-titled 1979 hit action comedy.

The poster makes the film look like a Meet the Parents (2000) style romcom, but this is more of a buddy-tasting action comedy. Being unfamiliar with the original film is not a handicap in this case and may even be advisable. I found myself easily let along by the charming stars: Albert Brooks (The Scout (1994)) as the neurotic scaredy cat doctor, and Michael Douglas (Traffic (2000)) as the nonchalant, 'I-can-do-anything' type are well-cast, share chemistry and are really funny together. Brooks' scenes with David Suchet (Effie Gray (2014)) as Jean-Pierre (among other things appearing in a red thong!) are also a hoot. With Candice Bergen (Rules Don't Apply (2016)) as heavily combated ex-wife, and Ryan Reynolds (6 Underground (2019)) with strangely over-plucked eyebrows as the cute son getting married.

The In-Laws doesn't take itself serious but it is a bowl of laughs, while it also trails around admirably as a kind of fun field trip, particularly for fans of its two headlining stars.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 40 mil. $

Box office: 26.8 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.67 times its cost)

[The In-Laws premiered 19 May (USA) and runs 98 minutes. Shooting took place from June - August 2002 in California, including in Los Angeles, in Chicago, Illinois and in Ontario, including in Toronto. The film opened #5, behind fellow new release Bruce Almigthy and holdover hits The Matrix Reloaded, Daddy Daycare and X2: X-Men United, to a 7.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 20.4 mil. $ (76.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 1.2 mil. $ (4.5 %) and Spain with 777k $ (2.9 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. Fleming returned with 3 TV credits prior to his theatrical return, Nancy Drew (2007). Douglas returned with a voice performance in Freedom: History of US (2003, TV-series) and theatrically in The Sentinel (2006); Brooks in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005). The In-Laws is rotten at 33 % with a 5/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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11/19/2024

The In-Laws (2003) - Fine cast fuel amusing hijinks in under-appreciated remake

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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