Synopsis
Lots of people have misgiving about their in-laws, but in this offbeat comedy, a man discovers that his new son-in-law's father is significantly stranger than he's able to deal with. Jerry Peyser (
Albert Brooks) is a well-meaning but slightly anal-retentive podiatrist who doesn't much care for surprises in his life. When his daughter Melissa (Lindsay Sloane) announces she's going to marry her boyfriend, Mark Tobias (
Ryan Reynolds), Jerry figures that helping his wife plan the wedding and getting through the ceremony is as much excitement as he needs or wants. However, when Jerry and his wife, Katherine (Maria Ricossa), meet Mark's father for the first time, Steve Tobias (
Michael Douglas) ends up taking Jerry on the ride of his life. Both Mark and Steve's ex-wife, Judy (
Candice Bergen), seem to have a decidedly ambivalent attitude about Steve, and Jerry finds out why -- Steve is actually an undercover agent for the CIA. In the guise of doing Steve a favor, Jerry gets dragged into a strange and dangerous episode involving international arms dealers, French super-villains, heavily armed men's room attendants, and a stolen private jet belonging to
Barbra Streisand, as well as several less-than-pleasant encounters with Angela (
Robin Tunney), Steve's colleague in espionage who doesn't trust Jerry. The In-Laws was adapted from the memorable 1979 comedy of the same name, in which
Alan Arkin and
Peter Falk played the mismatched fathers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide