Main Cast: Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Arlene Golonka, Penny Peyser
Release Year: 1979
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Dentist Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) is a respectable man. He has a daughter who is about to marry the son of a very suspicious character, Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk). They are practically relatives already, the wedding is so near. Certainly, Sheldon already despises Vince as if he were already a well-known relative. Nontheless, Vince calls on Sheldon and convinces him to go with him on a series of wild and hilarious adventures, claiming all the while that he is a CIA agent, and that what he is doing is in the national interest. Sheldon follows Vince to a South American country ruled by a very odd man, General Garcia (Richard Libertini), who talks to his hand (which talks back). It seems that the dictator is involved in a scheme to counterfeit and undermine U.S. currency. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Review
Why aren't there more films co-starring Alan Arkin and Peter Falk? Writer Andrew Bergman's loopy comedy takes full advantage of the prodigious talent of this double act, giving the two numerous chances to play off one another, and director Arthur Hiller artfully builds the comedy one ticklish brick at a time. In comedies, pace is everything: Even master directors of rigorously timed action films such as Steven Spielberg have bombed badly (1941) when they've tried to be funny. Bergman and Hiller start with a solid-enough premise, the old joke about crazy in-laws, and slowly, quietly add comic layer upon layer. Arkin's mournful gravity lends a humorous reality to the film and Falk's lunacy is so unaffected it seems almost innocent. Yet he's sly, too: The audience can sense his character's innate shrewdness no matter how crazy he seems. Michael Lembeck and Penny Peyser contribute nice bits as the betrothed -- their reaction to the money their fathers have scammed is priceless -- as does Ed Begley Jr. as a CIA station chief. Only Richard Libertini seems to go over the top as the lunatic South American dictator. Still, as in later Bergman works such as The Freshman, there's an underlying affection and sweetness to The In-Laws that makes it a treat. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
Ed Begley, Jr. - Barry Lutz; Michael Lembeck - Tommy Ricardo; Carmine Caridi - Angie; Sammy Smith - Mr. Hirschorn; James Hong - Bing Wong; Brass Adams - Deliveryman #2; Sergio Calderon - Alfonso; Álvaro Carcaño - Edgardo; Barbara Dana - Bank Teller; John Day - T Man #3; Rosanna de Soto; Art Evans - Driver; John Finnegan - Deliveryman #1; Mitchell Group - Second Guard; Rozsika Halmos - Mrs. Adelman; John Hostetter - Workman; Eduardo Noriega - Senator Jesus Braunschweiger; David Paymer - Cab Driver; Maurice Sneed - Paint Boy; Kent Williams - Ski Mask; Jorge Zepeda - Carlos; Carmen Dragon - Carmen Dragon; Peter Miller - Bank Manager; Paul L. Smith - Mo; Ellen Clark - Ad Lib #4; Tom Degidon - Bartender; Danny Kwan - Billy Wong; Dick Wieand - Al; Jim Goodwin - Guard; John Hancock - T Man #1
Credit
Dorothy Wilde - Associate Producer, Dianne Crittenden - Casting, Jack Roe - First Assistant Director, Arthur Hiller - Director, Robert Swink - Editor, Alan Arkin - Executive Producer, John Morris - Composer (Music Score), Del Armstrong - Makeup, Eric D. Andersen - Camera Operator, Pato Guzman - Production Designer, David M. Walsh - Cinematographer, Arthur Hiller - Producer, William Sackheim - Producer, Monroe Sachson - Producer, Ernie Bishop - Set Designer, Robert de Vestel - Set Designer, Milt Rice - Special Effects, Larry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, Andrew Bergman - Screenwriter
The daughter of mild-mannered, Manhattandentist Sheldon Kornpett (Arkin), and the son of businessman Vince Ricardo (Falk), are engaged to be married. At an introductory dinner party, Vince tells hysterically exaggerated tales of his "consulting" work in 1954 Guatemala (a subtle CIA reference). Sheldon senses something suspicious right away, and this suspicion gets stronger for both Sheldon and the audience as the movie progresses. Ultimately, Vince dupes Sheldon into joining a rogue CIA plot to rob the U.S. Treasury on behalf of an insaneLatin-Americandictator (played by Richard Libertini) who talks to a face painted on his hand (à laSeñor Wences).
As the adventures of Sheldon and Vince become more outlandish, Sheldon becomes convinced that Vince is also insane. Still somehow he cannot abandon Vince, perhaps due to the impending marriage of their children, or perhaps due to his general decency, and goes along with his crazy schemes, having his life threatened on more than one occasion.
The film came about because Warner Brothers wanted to make a sequel to the 1974 film Freebie and the Bean, also starring Alan Arkin. Peter Falk was cast and Andrew Bergman was brought in to write the script. Bergman decided that what Warners really wanted was a buddy picture and took the script in an entirely different direction than was originally intended.
The character of General Garcia pays homage to Señor Wences and his hand puppet, "Johnny." The General presents his own hand puppet, "Señor Pepe," who, like Johnny, is created from facial features drawn on the thumb and first finger of the General's hand. Señor Pepe is the General's closest, and perhaps only, advisor.
Some of the exterior scenes (most notably where the FBI chase Sheldon into the car painter) were filmed in Englewood, NJ.
The airport that Vince mentions (McGraw Airfield, located on Route 46 near Lodi) is a reference to Teterboro Airport, which is located on Rt. 46, near Lodi, NJ.
As Vince leaves the hotel to see the General, the passing bus is marked "Pulman de Morelos / Servicio de lujo", indicating filming done in Morelos, Mexico.
Carmen Dragon, who appears at the end of the film as the conductor of the Paramus Philharmonic, is the father of Daryl Dragon of the 1970s pop music duo Captain & Tennille.
