On July 7, Netflix released the comedy action film “Illegal Relatives”, which was worked on by Adam Sandler’s company Happy Madison. So even before viewing, an experienced viewer could roughly guess what kind of movie awaits him. In this review, we tell whether the film turned out to be of sufficient quality to be considered a good pastime.
“Relatives outside the law” / The Out-Laws
Genre comedy action
Directed by Tyler Spindel
Starring Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin, Michael Rooker, Lauren Lapkus
Netflix premiere
Release year 2023
IMDb site
Successful bank manager Owen Browning has the best life. Things are going well at work, and the boy is about to marry the beautiful Parker. Shortly before the wedding, the girl announces that her parents will still be able to break away from urgent matters and visit their daughter for the holiday. Now Owen will finally meet the esteemed Mr. and Mrs. McDermott.
And all would be fine, if one day a couple of robbers did not visit the bank to the unlucky manager. Miraculously, they had the information they needed to open the vault, which made their job a lot easier. During the robbery, Owen managed to notice several little things, thanks to which he came to the conclusion that at this very moment the future father-in-law and mother-in-law were robbing the bank.
“Illegitimate Relatives” is a movie too unpretentious and simple to pretend to be anything more than giving the viewer a good mood on a Friday or Saturday night. It must be said that the tape copes well with this task.
Concerns about the quality of the humor arose through the producing studio. For those familiar with Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison opus, it’s no secret how terrifying their projects can be. Fortunately, this is not the case, and the notorious silliness has not been able to overshadow the really good episodes, which are plentiful here.
The plot does not offer any surprises, and on the topic of getting to know the parents of the other half on the eve of the wedding, the genre has already expressed itself quite exhaustively, Ben Stiller will not let you lie.
At some point, the film ceases to be just a comedy about a tug-of-war with family relations and is sharply reclassified into a heist comedy with action elements. At the same time, the dynamics revives, and this is the moment for which it is worth paying attention to the novelty.
After all, when the story reaches the criminal point of no return, the best qualities of “Relatives” are manifested in it. Of course, even then the film does not cease to be silly, but it is a healthy idiocy, almost adequate in the context of the given direction.
And most importantly, the plot is practically devoid of typical Sandler twists (Sandler himself acts as a producer), which always makes one feel awkward.
Many local jokes cause hearty laughter. A symbolic salute to James Bond is funny (and which 007 agent is the best for you?). The cake gun joke is great. And the obsessed Adam Devine in the image of Shrek is in a good way creepy.
All this frank and cheerful silliness is supported by a pleasant cast. Ellen Barkin and especially Pierce Brosnan don’t even have to do anything to be likable.
Devine plays a complete idiot and sometimes goes a little overboard with the Jim Carrey meanderings, but he fits in well with the overall picture. This trio is the main punch of the comedy scene here, and that’s enough to keep a weary crowd entertained.
Two decades ago, the fool Johnny English allowed himself to dance right on the coffin during the funeral. The main character of “Outlaw Relatives” goes further and drives a collection truck all over the cemetery, destroying everything on the way. And the film itself moves forward at normal speeds and does not see any obstacles on the way to delivering a good mood to its audience.
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Pros: a good comedy component, a pleasant cast, good action and narrative dynamics, an almost complete absence of humor, which is perceived as a senseless tastelessness, the project turns out to be even a little better than you could expect before watching Cons: unfortunately, the film does not manage to jump above the head , because this is just a pleasant comedy for one time, which you are unlikely to ever remember, and there is no point in talking about flaws such as the typicality of the plot, because it is already clear, there is also dubious humor Conclusion:
“Relatives outside the law” makes a pleasant impression. This is moderately funny and honest nonsense with the viewer, which does not shy away from its not very attractive status. And he does it right
