Review: ‘The Out-Laws’ action-packed silliness

By Matt Pascarella

Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes

What if you suspected your to-be in-laws were current bank robbers? What would you do? This is exactly what happens to Owen when he meets his fiancé Parker’s parents, Billy and Lilly, whom he suspects robbed the bank where he is manager.

His intimidating in-laws know he’s on to them, and he’s having trouble proving their guilt and his innocence. When Parker is kidnapped by Billy and Lilly’s boss, Rehan, he must work together with his in-laws to save his to-be wife from a gruesome fate – all in time for their upcoming wedding in this outlandish comedy.

Produced by Adam Sandler, “The Out-Laws” stars Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin, Michael Rooker, Poorna Jagannathan, Richard Kind, Julie Hagerty, Blake Anderson, Lil Rel Howery, Lauren Lapkus, and Dean Winters.

Owen (Devine) and Parker (Dobrev) are getting married. Owen is mapping out the seating chart for the wedding using a variety of action figures. When Parker asks if there is room for two more seats, Owen is psyched her parents are coming; he’s never met them. Parker is less than thrilled and says her parents can be a bit much.

Despite Owen’s parents (Kind, Hagerty) not being crazy about Parker, he is excited to meet her parents. He assures her it’s OK if her parents are a lot.

“Have you met my parents?” said Owen. “I only picked Medusa and Skeletor [as representatives for his parents in the seating chart] because they don’t make Stalin and Lizzie Borden dolls.”

When Parker’s parents, Billy (Brosnan) and Lilly (Barkin) arrive early, it’s a surprise. To say they’re intimidating is an understatement.

Billy, Lilly and Owen all go drinking and Owen tells Parker it was like hanging with the cool kids.

Later, Owen’s bank is robbed, and the robbers know Owen by name. Detective Oldham (Rooker) has been tracking notorious criminals, the Ghost Bandits, for years and he suspects this is their handywork.

After carefully considering several details from the robbery coupled with initially meeting Billy and Lilly, he thinks they may have robbed his bank.

Billy and Lilly’s boss, Rehan (Jagannathan), tells them she wants more money than the $1 million they’ve already given her, otherwise Parker is in trouble.

While Agent Oldham is tracking the Ghost Bandits, he finds the equipment they used to rob Owen’s bank in the trunk of Owen’s car. Owen turns them in almost immediately and Agent Oldham wants him to wear a wire.

While Parker and Owen are cake tasting, Rehan bursts in and kidnaps Parker.

Owen tells Billy and Lilly they need someone familiar with how to get in and out of bank vaults in order to get the rest of the money they need to save Parker. The three come up with a plan to rob the heavily secured Atlas Reserve Bank run by Phoebe King (Lapkus).

I liked this movie. It was funny in parts with a lot of action; the scenes in the cake shop and the cemetery are intense. It is a little raunchy, with mild violence, a little bit of blood, and moderate language. While there are many great actors in this movie, Richard Kind in typical Richard Kind fashion is over-the-top ridiculous, especially when working with Agent Oldham. I felt like it started strong and lost a bit of momentum as it progressed, but this is still a fun one.

The fifth James Bond gives it two thumbs up!

Available to stream on Netflix. <