Arthur Hiller’s 1979 cult classic, The In-laws, is in the truest sense of the word, a joyride, emphasis being on ‘ride’. What starts off with a simple introductory dinner between the Ricardo’s and the Kornpett’s, (as their kids are getting married), escalates to moments of intense street fight involving guns, impromptu helicopter rides, rolling in the dirt, some absolutely batshit crazy criss-cross running, involving use of the film’s most iconic quote, “Serpentine!’ Shelly ‘Serpentine!”, two fascinating car chases, neither one of which end particularly pleasantly and ultimately a stellar helicopter landing.
Frankly, the two central characters of this equal parts intelligent, equal parts crazy and yet highly underrated buddy comedy, are rarely if ever stationary for more than five minutes. This constant movement gives the film a sense of urgency, which gels perfectly with the film’s generally chaotic energy, and it keeps you engaged. It also doesn’t give you a lot of time to think too much about the situational aspects of the comedy which is great, because if you did, the whole thing runs a risk of falling apart.
Despite the fact that script by Andrew Bergman is very structured and has some genuinely smart ideas, and is replete with hilarious character moments, unexpected throwaway jokes, tonnes of slapstick and farcical humour, it does have its share of logical inconsistencies. It starts of as believable, and escalates to complete madness. To some extent, you experience and enjoyment of viewing the film, will also depend upon how easily or quickly you suspend your disbelief, just a little bit and decide to go along with it. The faster you can do that, the better.
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The film relies heavily on the chemistry, and the performances on Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. Falk as Vince Ricardo, exudes an odd combination of charm, mystery and hysteria, a perfect combination for his “probably a CIA agent character” and frankly his is the strongest performance in the film. Arkin’s Shelly is a perfect match, in terms of energy, but while for the majority of the film his performance is pretty good, there are moments where I felt his delivery of great punchlines just didn’t land. I might be in the minority, because most critics loved Arkin’s work in the film, but to me, it felt like he somehow faltered especially in comparison to Falk.
A direct contrast to Vince Ricardo’s cool demeanour while committing a crime that could possibly collapse the world economy, Shelly is a simpleton dentist who after meeting Vince for the first time, (since his daughter is engage to Vince’s son), suddenly finds himself as an accomplice to Vince’s crime. He is frightened, baffled, and understandably exasperated, unsure of whom to trust and what to believe. Shelly is in someways, a perfect stand-in for the audience, trying to navigate the web of lies, secrets and odd plot twists that the script has to offer, except that in the moments when he rolls his eyes or sighs in desperation, we laugh out loud.
Arthur Hiller does a great job, as far maintaining the tonality of the film is concerned. Never does the humour feel forced, while part of this has do with the writing, part of it is to Hiller’s credit. Who utilises the performances, the camerawork and editing, all in a way that contributes to the humour of the film. A great example of this comes in the form of the previously mentioned Serpentine, Shelly, Serpentine! scene. Vince and Shelly, get out of a jet to meet one of Vince’s old friends, only to be attacked by two gunmen, what follows is absolute comedy gold, from the quick and tense banter, to the alternation between close-up reaction shots, and long shots, which enhance they physicality of the comedy, and in some ways reminiscent of the earlier Looney Tunes shorts, which actually adds to their overall humour.
I would be remiss, not to mention the as Sheldon calls him at one point, ‘kind’ dictator. Played by Richard Libertini, this character gets barely 10 minutes of screentime and yet leaves a mark. The oddball dictator has a hand puppet, which in and of itself, is amusing, but when he proceeds to dump an entire jar of water onto his hand, claiming that the puppet is thirsty, I completely lost it.
In the end, despite some of its cheesy and loud background score, and ineffective slapstick at certain places, The In-laws is worth your time. It makes up for its occasional lack of finesse, and its seemingly dated appearance with excellent wit, iconic dialogues, standout comedy moments (it has a lot more of those, apart from the ones I mentioned above). And the friendship that develops between Shelly and Vince, which ultimately functions as the film’s emotional core, grounding all of its absurdist humour in at least some flicker of honesty.
Also if nothing else, this works perfectly as a feel-good or rather a happy-place kinda film!
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