This is a very funny movie, featuring the usual good performance from Michael Douglas as "deep under cover" CIA agent Steve Tobias, whose son is about to marry the daughter of Chicago podiatrist Jerry Peyser (Albert Brooks, who also put on a good performance.) The movie follows but freely adapts the story from the 1979 original of the same name that starred Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. The characters have different names, this version is set mostly in the U.S. and Europe, whereas the '79 version was set mostly in Central America, and this version deals a lot more with the wedding. The main difference, though, is that this one is way more over the top than the '79 movie, which tried to take the subject a little more seriously. Comparing the two, then, which you think is better will depend on whether you like over the top comedies. I do, and I prefer this one.
Tobias is a bit of a James Bond type, with lots of gadgets and a beautiful sidekick (played by Robin Tunney) to go along with them. Peyser's role as a podiatrist somehow seems funnier than the dentist character from '79. The FBI agents on their trail are more bumbling than anyone faced by the "heroes" of '79. Finally, the part of the bizarre general in '79 is replaced by a totally bizarre international arms dealer (played absolutely perfectly by David Suchet) who says that homosexuality disgusts him but then falls madly in love with Peyser. All these things add up to what I thought was a hilarious ride.
Worthy of note is Candice Bergen who was strong in a limited role as Tobias's ex-wife. Some of the story was a bit too over the top. The nuclear submarine in Lake Michigan was a bit of a stretch. One wonders how this thing got through the St. Lawrence Seaway. (I would think it would have been pretty hard to hide going through the Welland Canal!) Overall though, even if it's a wee bit too over the top at times, it's still really funny. 7/10
Tobias is a bit of a James Bond type, with lots of gadgets and a beautiful sidekick (played by Robin Tunney) to go along with them. Peyser's role as a podiatrist somehow seems funnier than the dentist character from '79. The FBI agents on their trail are more bumbling than anyone faced by the "heroes" of '79. Finally, the part of the bizarre general in '79 is replaced by a totally bizarre international arms dealer (played absolutely perfectly by David Suchet) who says that homosexuality disgusts him but then falls madly in love with Peyser. All these things add up to what I thought was a hilarious ride.
Worthy of note is Candice Bergen who was strong in a limited role as Tobias's ex-wife. Some of the story was a bit too over the top. The nuclear submarine in Lake Michigan was a bit of a stretch. One wonders how this thing got through the St. Lawrence Seaway. (I would think it would have been pretty hard to hide going through the Welland Canal!) Overall though, even if it's a wee bit too over the top at times, it's still really funny. 7/10