The In-Laws on DVD

Everybody is nervous when their parents meet their loved one’s parents. You can never predict how they're going to get along, but you really want them to like each other so they don’t embarrass you or mess up the relationship.

In The In-Laws, the idea is taken to the extreme. The bride’s father is an obsessive-compulsive weenie, while the groom’s dad is an undercover CIA agent with the charm of a used car salesman. Get them together, and you can pretty much figure out how the movie progresses.

Michael Douglas is Steve Tobias, the father of the groom, while Albert Brooks plays Jerry Peyser, the role he was born to play. When Steve takes Jerry on one of his missions, Jerry learns a lot about himself, and how being an obsessive-compulsive weenie isn’t as much fun as it sounds. On the other hand, Steve learns a thing or two about being a good father because, apparently, being a good father means being there 100% of the time.

As the two try juggling their undercover antics and their childrens’ wedding, hilarity ensues. Okay, maybe not hilarity, but a few worthy chuckles, anyway.

Douglas and Brooks play off each other very well, and it almost seems as if the roles were written with them in mind, even though they weren't. Candice Bergen shows up briefly as Steve’s ex-wife and offers more laughs than the rest of the movie combined.

While The In-Laws occasionally walks the fine line between being politically correct and not, it does its best to stay on track. It’s never boring, it maintains your interest for the entire 98 minutes, and leaves you with a good feeling. It’s a highly entertaining movie that men and women of all ages can enjoy. And that’s a rarity.

Part action, part comedy, and part romance, The In-Laws wasn’t much of a success at the box office. Is it because the premise didn’t appeal to a broad enough audience? Or is it because Warner Brothers was silly enough to open it in May, when X-Men 2, The Matrix Reloaded, Bruce Almighty and Finding Nemo all premiered (and became four of the five most successful films of the summer)?

Whatever the reason, the movie tanked, but still gets a decent little DVD that fans should be happy enough with. It’s presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and it looks better than expected. The colors are rich, detail and fleshtones are excellent, and the multitude of blacks don’t hide any action or detail.

The audio is not as good as it should be, but it makes pretty good use of the front channels, at least. Most of the dialogue and score use the center speaker, while the sound effects and bits of dialogue use the sides. During the action scenes, such as the Sea-Doo chase, the surrounds should have been much more active, but alas, it was not to be. Still, all things considered, this is still a pretty good audio track.

Extras include an audio commentary by director Andrew Fleming, two deleted scenes that were cut for very good reasons, the most unfunny gag reel we’ve ever seen, multiple takes with Albert Brooks (that start out funny but get old fast), and the trailer.

The In-Laws, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
98 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney, Ryan Reynolds and Candice Bergen
Produced by Bill Gerber, Elie Samaha, Bill Todman, Jr., Joel Simon
Screenplay by Nat Mauldin and Ed Solomon
Directed by Andrew Fleming

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