The In-Laws [Criterion Collection]

Director: Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/05/2016
UPC:	0715515181211
Original Release:	1979
Rating:	PG
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	9,977

Special Features

Audio commentary from 2003 featuring director Arthur Hiller, actors Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, and writer Andrew Bergman New interview with Arkin In Support of "The In-Laws," a new interview program featuring actors Ed Begley Jr., Nancy Dussault, James Hong and David Paymer Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Peter Falk	Vincent J. Ricardo
Alan Arkin	Sheldon S. Kornpett, D.D.S.
Richard Libertini	General Garcia
Nancy Dussault	Carol Kornpett
Penny Peyser	Barbara Kornpett
Arlene Golonka	Jean Ricardo
Michael Lembeck	Tommy Ricardo
Paul L. Smith	Mo,Mr. Hirschorn
Carmine Caridi	Angie
Ed Begley Jr.	Barry Lutz
James Hong	Bing Wong
Barbara Dana	Bank Teller
Rozsika Halmos	Mrs. Adelman
Alvaro Carcano	Edgardo
Jorge Zepeda	Carlos
Sergio Calderon	Alfonso
David Paymer	Cab Driver
Kent Williams	Ski Mask
John Hancock	T Man #1
John Finnegan	Deliveryman #1
Brass Adams	Deliveryman #2
Eduardo Noriega	Senator Jesus Braunschweiger
Danny Kwan	Billy Wong
Maurice Sneed	Man at Car Painting Shop
Rosana Soto	Evita
James Goodwin	Guard,Guard
Mitchell Group	Guard #2
Carmen Dragon	Carmen Dragon
Peter Miller	Bank Manager
Hanna King	Vicki
Dick Wieand	Al
Carlos Montalbo	Lieutenant
Tom Degidon	Bartender
Tony Di Falco	T Man #2
John Day	T Man #3
Art Evans	Driver
John Hostetter	Workman
Bill Houston	Officer
Rosana DeSoto	Actor
Ellen Clark	Ad Lib #4
John Morris	Composer

Technical Credits

Andrew Bergman

Alan Arkin	Executive Producer
Arthur Hiller	Producer,Director
William Sackheim	Producer
Monroe Sachson	Producer
Milt Rice	Special Effects
Andrew Bergman	Screenwriter
Dianne Crittenden	Casting
Larry Jost	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The In-Laws
1. Department Of The Treasury
2. Sheldon Kornpett, DDS
3. "José Grecos De Muertos"
4. Vince's Overseas Connection
5. "The Man Is Crazy"
6. A Family Favor
7. Making A House Call
8. "I Work For The CIA"
9. Brand-New Engraving
10. Vince Comes Clean
11. "BMW Pulling In!"
12. Billy And Bing
13. "Serpentine, Shel!"
14. Barry Lutz, Intelligence
15. "Piece O' Cake, Shel"
16. The General And Señor Pepe
17. "Go With The Flow, Shel"
18. Creating A Diversion
19. Raid
20. "Is This All From Root Canals?"
21. "Happy Wedding"
1. "They're In-Laws!"
2. The Guacamole Act
3. "We Had A Good Time"
4. The Dinner Scene
5. "Brando Loved It"
6. Richard Libertini
7. Shooting In Manhattan
8. A Slow-Motion Chase
9. Wide Shots In Comedy
10. Stewed Prunes
11. Bob Bondurant School Of Stunt Driving
12. James Hong's Safety Drill
13. "Alan Loved Doing This"
14. Cuernavaca
15. "That's Really Me"
16. "We're Barely Hanging On"
17. The J.C. Penny Line
18. Reworking The Scene
19. Medical Students
20. "It All Fell Into Place"
21. Carmen Dragon
1. Chapter 1 [23:38]
2. Chapter 2 [:27]
1. Chapter 1 [3:04]
2. Chapter 2 [5:53]
3. Chapter 3 [8:16]
4. Chapter 4 [5:08]
5. Chapter 5 [7:19]
6. Chapter 6 [3:56]
7. Chapter 7 [:26]

Menu

Disc #1 -- The In-Laws
   Play The Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Commentary: Off
      Commentary: On
      Index
   Supplements
      Alan Arkin
         Chapters
      In Support Of "The In-Laws"
         Chapters
      Trailer

Editorial Reviews

The inspired pairing of Peter Falk and Alan Arkin elevates buddy-film chemistry to a level beyond mere science in this 1979 comedy, a modest production destined to rank with the classics. The setup is standard: There's going to be a wedding; Arkin is the father of the bride, Falk the father of the groom. Arkin is Sheldon Kornpett, a mild-mannered New York City dentist, and Falk is Vincent Ricardo, a loose cannon who works, or at least used to work, for the CIA and strikes "Shelly" as an unbelievable blowhard. Even as Vince manages to drag the reluctant Shelly along on a last-minute prenuptial escapade to a small banana republic, the dentist remains convinced that Vince is just a nut. The story works like a charm, but the casting and chemistry are the main ingedients here. Falk gets one of the great roles of his career, playing a charming mystery man whose sanity is in doubt from the opening bell and who's delightfully unflappable in any situation. Arkin, meanwhile, moves effortlessly through escalating levels of hysteria as a beleaguered and ever-so-uptight average Joe who panics at the drop of a pin. Sharply directed by Arthur Hiller (The Out-of-Towners) from a virtuoso script by Andrew Bergman (The Freshman), The-In Laws is nonstop fun, setting off at a brisk pace and never looking back. Ultimately, the film's brilliance derives from the budding odd-couple friendship and the caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation of one shell-shocked dentist. It ranks as one of Hollywood's finest buddy pictures, and one of the funniest films ever made.

Barnes & Noble - Gregory Baird

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.

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