The odder the odd couple, the bigger the laughs.

That's the theory and it certainly holds true for The In-Laws, a manic fish-out-of-water farce inspired by Arthur Hiller's classic 1979 comedy The In-Laws.

Then, it was Alan Arkin's mild-mannered dentist who was paired with a rather shady nutcase (Peter Falk).

This time, Albert Brooks' fusspot podiatrist finds himself embroiled in international intrigue with a wacko CIA agent, played with gleeful abandon by Michael Douglas.

The basic setup of the two films is their only real similarity, otherwise screenwriters Nat Mauldin and Ed Solomon have created a hilarious cross between Meet the Parents and the James Bond flicks.

Mark Tobias (Ryan Reynolds) is about to marry Melissa Peyser (Lindsay Sloane) in what could be a happy event if it weren't for two things.

Mark's parents Steve (Douglas) and Judy (Candice Bergen) have yet to meet Melissa's parents Jerry (Brooks) and Katherine (Maria Ricossa).

It's an understatement to say the parents are worlds apart, which is running joke No. 1.

Then there's Steve and Judy, who began hating each other shortly after they conceived Mark and haven't seen each other for years.

That's running joke No. 2.

The third major joke is that Steve is trying to prevent Jean-Pierre Thibodoux (David Suchet), a foppish French arms dealer, from buying a nuclear submarine.

Poor neurotic Jerry is mistaken for an infamous underworld assassin and soon has both the FBI and the arms dealer after him.

With so many jokes running amok in The In-Laws, the old funny bone gets a major workout.

If you buy into the nonsense, The In-Laws will come across as an old-fashioned screwball farce. If you find the whole setup silly, you'll still get a steady stream of chuckles.

Brooks hasn't been this funny since his 1991 comedy Defending Your Life, but this time he's going for slapstick, as well as his trademark dead-pan irony.

Douglas is completely madcap. He's a bit like the love child of the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. Fortunately, Mauldin and Solomon give him plenty of latitude to be outrageous.

The supporting cast is superb -- Bergen makes Judy a feisty, sarcastic, lusty harridan.

With most of the mayhem going to the older actors, Reynolds is remarkably restrained but no less funny.

The In-Laws is the kind of sublimely ridiculous piece of cinema fluff that leaves you grateful for what it delivers while begging for even more.

(This film is rated PG)

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