The In-Laws (1979): A wedding season farce with two comedy legends at their peak
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Classic Movies & Cocktails has relationships with various online retailers in addition to Amazon. If you buy something through a link we may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that links take you off our site and we can’t control those other sites. Prices are of course subject to change and always do your own due diligence before making a purchase.
🎭 Know Before You Watch:
This is a farce. The situations become increasingly ridiculous, but the humor works because Alan Arkin’s character reacts exactly the way a sensible person would if he found himself trapped inside someone else’s insanity.
🎬 Worth Watching?
Best For Tonight If…
You Ever…
- Agreed to “one small favor” that turned into a much bigger commitment you felt you couldn’t get out of
- Found yourself trapped in someone else’s drama
- Tried to be helpful and instantly regretted it
You Want to…
- Laugh without having to think too hard
- Escape for about 100 minutes
- Watch a comedy that gets increasingly absurd without losing its footing
You Enjoy or are at Least Open to…
- Farce (which means not asking too many questions or being very logical because it’s completely ridiculous)
- Buddy comedies (especially one with incredible chemistry between the buddies)
- Watching a perfectly sensible person find themself in ridiculous situations
🍸 Mood: Chaotic, fast-paced
⏱️ Runtime: 103 minutes, just under two hours
🧠 Attention Required: Medium. The plot is fairly simple but there are so many sly moments and the dialogue is so crazy you do need to pay some attention.
💰 Worth the Splurge of time and/or money?
Yes – definitely worth your time if you find it free on a service and you’re in the right mindset.
Probably work the money as a splurge if you’re in the right mindset, you’ve never seen it, and you really like or love the two leads, Alan Arkin and Peter Falk.
June is one of those months that comes with a whole bouquet of special days — graduation, Father’s Day, Flag Day, and of course, the unofficial start of weddings. Since this month also happens to be the anniversary of my first date with my husband, as well as the wedding anniversary of both my oldest sister and one of my favorite cousins (on the same day, no less), I decided to lean into the matrimonial spirit.
Lou and I regularly check out the 8pm movie on TCM — sometimes just to hear Ben Mankiewicz’s intro. And when the film happened to be The In‑Laws we decided to give it a shot.
I’d always heard it was a cult classic, but somehow missed it during its original release, even though 1979 was part of my prime movie‑going years. Lou had never seen it either, and while he’s not always big on farce, he does love Alan Arkin and Peter Falk like I do.
I’ve been meaning to share it with you and June seemed like the right time to do it.
🎬 What The In-Laws Is About
The In‑Laws follows Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin), a mild‑mannered dentist whose life is turned upside down on the eve of his daughter’s wedding. When he meets Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk), the father of the groom — and a possibly unhinged CIA operative — Sheldon is dragged into a spiraling international plot involving stolen U.S. Treasury plates, a Central American dictator, and a series of increasingly ridiculous misadventures.
It’s a buddy‑farce built on contrast: Arkin’s anxious, tightly wound normalcy versus Falk’s unflappable, deadpan chaos. Their chemistry is the engine that drives the film.
📺 Original Trailer & TCM Intro
Check out the original trailer for the movie:
And here’s Ben Mankiewicz’s 2026 intro:
🎭 What Makes It a Classic (and Why It’s a Hidden Gem)
The In‑Laws did well at the box office, earning $38 million on its $9 million budget. It got generally good reviews from critics at the time with particular praise being given for…
- The lead performances and the chemistry between Arkin and Falk.
- The script . It was written by Andrew Bergman who cowrote Blazing Saddles four years earlier.
It’s a hidden gem because, while it did well at the box office, it didn’t get the kind of attention that other comedies of that decade received, like The Jerk or Animal House.
It’s become a cult classic because it nails the hardest sub-genre in comedy: farce.
⭐ Why The In‑Laws Is a Masterclass in Farce
1. The Escalation Is Logical
Great farce starts with a normal situation and spirals into chaos through cause and effect. Sheldon isn’t randomly dropped into a spy plot — he’s simply trying to meet his daughter’s future father‑in‑law. Every escalation feels like something he can’t escape.
2. Falk Plays It Completely Straight
Vince Ricardo never winks at the camera. Whether he’s describing giant tsetse flies with beaks or casually dodging bullets, he behaves as if everything is perfectly reasonable. That sincerity is a big part of what makes it work.
3. Arkin’s “Straight Man” Performance Is the Engine
Arkin doesn’t just react — he anchors the comedy. His escalating anxiety validates the audience’s confusion. Because he’s so grounded, the script can push the world around him into total madness.
⭐ Snapshot
- Released: 1979
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Director: Arthur Hiller
- Screenwriter: Andrew Bergman
- Runtime: 103 minutes
- Genre: Farce / Buddy Comedy
- Rating: PG
Main and Key Supporting Cast
Alan Arkin – Sheldon Kornpett, a dentist with an office in Manhattan. His daughter is getting married that weekend.
Peter Falk – Vince Ricardo, a CIA agent (or so he claims). He’s the father of the groom.
Nancy Dussault – Carol Kornpett, Sheldon’s wife.
Richard Libertini -General Garcia, a loopy dictator of a Central American country.
Michael Lembeck – Tommy Ricardo, the groom and Vince’s son.
Penny Peyser – Barbara Kornpett, the bride and Sheldon’s daughter.
Ed Begley, Jr. – Barry Lutz, a CIA Agent-in-Charge.
Standout Performances to Watch for
James Hong as Bing Wong, a pilot on the plane that takes Sheldon and Vince to Central America. Hong has had an incredibly prolific career with hundreds of credits to his name. He was on a hilarious Seinfeld episode where he plays the matre d’. He on an Oscar as part of the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once. He reportedly ad-libbed his entire pre-safety checklist, speaking the entire thing in Mandarin.
His performance would make Alan Arkin break up so much that Arkin banned Hong from the set when they were filming Arkin’s closeup reaction shots.
Richard Libertini as General Garcia. He’s one of those people you see and think, “I know that guy!” He’s another prolific actor and was in some of my favorite comedies from the 1970s and early-mid 80s. Famed critic, Roger Ebert called Libertini’s performance “transcendent goofiness.” It’s just jaw-droppingly nutty.
📝 Critical & Popular Reception
The initial critical reception was divided. While there were great champions for the film, like Roger Ebert, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and cohost of Sneak Previews, there were those who disliked it, including his partner/rival, Gene Siskel.
You can catch their review here…
Other acclaimed critics championed the film, including Janet Maslin of the New York Times. She praised Andrew Bergman’s script for how it “escalated steadily and hilariously.” David Ansen of Newsweek highlighted what he called the “deadpan counterpoint” of the leads.
But the detractors (including Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune), tended to struggle with the nature of the farce itself.
Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it “heavy-handed” and “smugly comical”.
1979 was a big year for comedy at the box office as I mentioned. So while The In-Laws did well in terms of receipts, people I asked for their memories of it had completely forgotten about it. A few remembered the title, but just hadn’t been moved enough to see it in the theater when it came out.
It’s gone on to be considered a cult classic with the advent of cable TV and video, it’s very quotable script, and because the 2003 remake received so much backlash. It reminded everyone how great the original was and is.
🎭 Themes & Subtext
In his autobiography, Mel Brooks talks about how comedy can hide deeper commentary, and The In-Laws does that as well.
Middle‑Class Status Quo vs. Total Chaos
Sheldon represents the safe, suburban American dream. Vince represents the cynical, post‑Watergate world where institutions can’t be trusted.
Redefining “Providing for the Family”
The ending is a subversive payoff. (I won’t spoil it for you) It suggests that in a corrupt world, the only thing that matters is loyalty and family, not institutions or rules. Sheldon’s acceptance shows he’s finally broken free of his rigid anxieties.
How Far is a Nice Person Willing to Go?
In recent years it seems the question of who’s really family has been more visible (or is it audible?) in mainstream media. How loyal do we have to be with our formal family members and what constitutes our extended family?
Sheldon refers to Vince as “my in-law”; but that’s not technically true. Vince is Sheldon’s daughter’s in-law. Not Sheldon’s. An “he’s my in-law” is used as a sort of justification for the insanity that Sheldon’s going along with. But where do we actually draw the line on the favors we do for people and the drama we allow ourselves to get sucked into?
If you’ve ever found yourself either during or after the fact, wondering just HOW you got yourself sucked into a situation, you’ll really relate to Sheldon, as ridiculous as things get.
🎥 Behind‑the‑Scenes Trivia
Here are some fun facts I discovered while researching the movie:
- Arkin & Falk Improvised Less Than You Think. There’s so much chaos going on, and since Arkin was an early member of famed improve group Second City, you’d expect that this script was heavily improvised but Arkin swore that they did the movie true to 95% of the script.
- The “Serpentine!” Scene Was Expanded. Director Arthur Hiller thought the scene so hilarious that he expanded on what Bergman had written.
- Arkin Considered This One of His Favorite Roles. Before this he felt that acting was greuling and you had to work hard to put on a good performance. He considered this one of the most fun professional experiences he had.
- Comedians Love This Movie. Steve Martin, Conan O’Brien, and Judd Apatow are all superfans.
- Marlon Brando Was Obsessed With It. He reportedly loved the movie, and Bergman’s script, so much it’s why he said yes to doing Bergman’s movie, The Freshman (1990, with Matthew Broderick).
Choose a Drink to Match the Mood
If you’re up for heightening your movie experience, you may find our cocktail or mocktail a perfect match — just like Arkin and Falk.
If you want a mocktail so you can keep your wits while chaos abounds, scroll past the cocktail recipe for our Mild-Mannered Dentist mocktail.
The Serpentine
Equipment
- 1 Cocktail Shaker Even a lidded jar works!
- 1 Jigger, Mini Measure, or measuring spoons You want to be able to measure ounces or tablespoons
- 1 Cocktail Strainer A small hand-held strainer works too
- 1 Rocks Glass These are the short, wide glasses but use what you've got
- 1 Paring knife and/or a peeler or other cutting tool You need to cut the lime if using a fresh one
- 1 juicing tool Makes it easier to get maximum juice from any fruit
- 1 Cutting Board I use either wood or bamboo to avoid microplastics
- 1 Small air-tight container To store the leftover fruit in
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Mezcal For Vince's smoky, unpredictable energy
- 1 ounce Blanco Tequila
- 3/4 ounce Lime Juice Fresh preferably but bottled is ok
- 3/4 ounce Hot Honey Syrup Make your own with equal parts hot honey and warm water or buy it. See Notes 3 & 4.
- 2 ounces Pineapple Juice Fresh preferably but packaged is ok
- 2 dashes Aromatic Bitters Such as Angostura
- 1 cup of ice cubes I like my cold drinks super cold so add more ice AND chill the glass if you do too.
- 1 round/coin of jalapeno (totally optional for the garnish)
- 1 round slice of lime for the garnish (also totally optional)
Instructions
- Chill your glass while you get ready to prep your drink. See Note 1 below.
- Wash your lime. Then cut it in half so you have two pieces. Juice on half and cut a round slice from the other half. Set both aside. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
- Make the hot honey syrup if needed. See Note 2 below and see Notes 3 and 4 for substitutions.
- Prepare your shaker by adding a large handful (about a cup) of ice.
- Add the ingredients: measure and pour into the shaker the mezcal, tequila, lime juice, hot honey syrup, and pineapple juice. (DON'T ADD THE BITTERS YET!!)
- Put the lid on the shaker (make sure it's tight and hold on to it), and shake vigorously. You want the drink to get cold as it's being shaken.
- Prep your serving glass by removing it from the freezer or dumping out the ice water (depends on how you chilled it) and fill it with fresh ice up to the amount you want.
- Remove the top of the shaker, attach/hold the strainer on the top, and pour out the mixture into your serving glass.
- Now, add the bitters. Hold the bottle close to the surface of the drink and add 2 dashes. You want them to be visible on top. And if you're feeling fancy and brave, try using a toothpick or a knife to drag them and create a snaky, serpentine sort of effect (you'll get the point when you see a particular scene in the movie).
- Sit down and enjoy the show! You can clean up later 🙂
Notes
- Place a rocks glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill it with ice water while you prepare the drink.
- Stir equal parts hot honey and warm water until fully blended. Let it cool for 1–2 minutes.
- Recommended hot honey brands Mike’s, Bushwick Kitchen, Trader Joes.
- Substitutions if you don’t like hot honey or don’t have it – regular honey syrup (equal parts honey + warm water), agave syrup (equal parts agave + water), Simple Syrup + a tiny pinch of cayenne – if you want a little heat but not honey (simple syrup is regular cane sugar melted in equal amount of hot/warm water). You can also use Ginger syrup for warmth without spice (but this is a big production and I don’t recommend it because I’m too lazy 🙂 ). You can also just skip the heat and use the same amount of simple syrup.
🎬 If You Like This, Watch One of These Next…
These are some of my favorite farces:
- What’s Up, Doc? — another perfect farce with escalating chaos and great performances (including the amazing Madeline Kahn in her first full-length movie role)
- Arsenic and Old Lace — Cary Grant at his comedic best
- Some Like It Hot — Billy Wilder’s classic, considered by many as the greatest American comedy ever made
You Deserve a Mindless, Goofy Time
Whether you need something to watch this weekend or during the week and you just don’t want something that’s going to make you think too hard, The In-Laws is absolutely a great choice. Just make sure you’re in the mood for incredible goofiness, because this movie has it. And the next time you hear someone yell “SERPENTINE!” you’ll be in on the joke.
Resources to Learn More
Here’s Alan Arkin discussing Peter Falk and The In-Laws
.jpg){kind=link}