Tedfoldol
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
MartinHafer
According to IMDB's trivia, Premiere Magazine listed this among their '50 best comedies ever'....though after seeing the movie, I have no idea why. Sure, it's a nice film but nothing more. And, with my expectations set that high, I felt a tad disappointed.
A young couple are getting married. Unfortunately, the groom's father, Vince (Peter Falk) comes off as a real weirdo and the bride's father, Sheldon (Alan Arkin), thinks Vince is a real flake. What he doesn't know is that he's also very dangerous and soon involves Sheldon in an international plot to destroy the world's economy....via a weird dictator in the land of Tijada and with the help of the CIA.This buddy comedy is pleasant but I remember no deep belly laughs. This is NOT to fault the movie makers....they did a decent job. Overall, worth seeing...just don't expect as much as you might have been led to believe.
MasterFantastic
Watching Peter Falk as a slightly off-kilter maybe-gone-rogue CIA agent interact with poor schlemiel Alan Arkin as a dentist is comedy gold, long before Seinfeld came along and coined that phrase. While the plot is appropriately whacked out, what is truly delightful--and perfect--is watching a normal, everyday type like Alan Arkin become gradually more and more unhinged as Peter Falk's character involves him in plot after crazy plot. It all culminates in a happy ending, but getting there is the whole story and provides continuous laughs.Excellent acting by the entire cast--even the bit players--and sprightly direction. "Serpentine!" will forever reign as one of my favorite lines.
DKosty123
It is interesting to note, Andrew Bergman wrote the script for this one and the recent remake starring Michael Douglas. This is by far the better version. There are several reasons for that.Arthur Hiller's Direction is definitely better in this one over the newer version. Then there is the more talented cast as Peter Falk and Alan Arkin are definitely more talented than the cast in the remake. It is not that Douglas is not talented, but that he does not fit his character as well as the original actor. Douglas is saddled with an inferior director in the new one too. It is a wonder they didn't get Tim Burton since he is the King of bad remakes, but you can't always get the best of the worst.The main thing is that this was an original and fresh material version of this film. When the remake was made, it did not get a fresh approach, it stuck with the original. In doing so, it fell flat because imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery. Peter Falk is most known as Columbo, but this is one of several comedy films he made. Falk does Comedy well and this film is no exception. His teaming with Arkin here is inspired & produces very good results.When watching this film the recent loss of Peter Faulk is felt even more as he is incredible in this as the opposite of Columbo, just winging it without regards to details. The results are so funny.
sddavis63
This is a movie that definitely has its moments. I have to give credit to Peter Falk, who put on a very strong performance as Vince Ricardo, a CIA agent whose son is getting married to the daughter of a pretty straight-laced dentist (Dr. Kornpett - Alan Arkin) who has trouble dealing with his future in-law's apparent eccentricities but ends up on a mission with him in Central America. The car chase scene is one of the better car chases I can remember in a movie, and the scene when Ricardo and Kornpett end up in front of the firing squad is worth a few laughs. I did think that Arkin came across as a bit too low-key in this movie (although he also had his moments) and to me the movie really weakened once they arrived in Central America and began to deal with a truly bizarre (to the point of being unbelievable) general (Richard Libertini) who has come up with a plan to print all the US currency he could possibly ever want.It's largely fun to watch this, although to be honest I thought this was one of the few occasions when I would say that the remake (the really over the top 2003 version with Michael Douglas in Falk's role) was actually both stronger and funnier than the original. Still, there's nothing particularly wrong with this. It's a fun movie that will keep you entertained. 6/10
