The Out-Laws is a 2023 American action comedy(?) film directed by Tyler Spindel, written by Evan Turner and Ben Zazove, produced by Adam Sandler, Adam DeVine, and Allen Covert.

It stars DeVine, Nina Dobrev, Ellen Barkin and Pierce Brosnan. The plot follows a bank manager on his wedding week whose bank is robbed by criminals that he very strongly suspects might be his future in-laws.

The Out-Laws was released by Netflix on July 7, 2023.

Plot

Owen Browning is a young bank manager about to marry Parker McDermott, whose estranged parents contact her to come to the wedding. He's excited he's finally going to meet them, as she's concerned they can be a bit much.

We soon see Owen's parents, Neil and Margie, who are difficult. Owen calls to tell them the good news about Parker's parents attending the wedding. He first has to hear about an odd allergy of a guest, then they show their ignorance of her profession as a yoga instructor, believing it involves a stripper pole. Rather than being happy about the news that the other in-laws are coming, they criticize them for being absent in Parker's life.

At the bank, Owen has to free an employee who's been pranked by being locked in the vault. So, he shows and talks about how state-of-the-art their bank's security system is; they point out their rival bank's vault security is considered the best in the state. Owen also points out all vaults have an emergency escape latch.

Out at dinner with his parents, they talk about the soon appearance of Parker's parents. Meanwhile, Owen talks with the storage space facility where they rent as he's hoping to access photos of Parker for a wedding photo montage. His call inadvertently alerts Eastern European mobster Rehan to their return.

The following night, the McDermotts let themselves into their home while Parker is still out leading a yoga class and scare Owen. They insist he calls them Billy and Lilly. The next day, Owen takes off work to spend the day with the in-laws. They pick the agenda, so they go skydiving, get tattoos, and drink.

The next day, an infamous pair of criminals hold up the bank called the "Ghost Bandits." As the robbery occurs during his wedding week, specific indicators such as the man's cologne, flashbacks to the bar, and what he told Lilly the previous day lead Owen to believe that the robbers might be his future in-laws.

FBI special agent Roger Oldham questions Owen as the bank manager with his in-laws behind him. Not able to say anything, Parker insists they leave once he breaks out in tears. Oldham has dedicated most of his career chasing the Ghost Bandits, and he's convinced they are behind the robbery.

Trying to enlist his parents' help in outing the McDermotts, Owen tells them his suspicions. They do ask direct inappropriate questions at dinner, but Billy and Lilly expertly redirect the conversation. Parker later asks Owen, but she thinks his theory is crazy.

Owen follows his in-laws to Rehan's and hears her threaten to kill Parker if they don't get her $5,000,000 more before the wedding. Oldham stops Owen on the highway, finds planted evidence in the trunk, and spills it on his in-laws. Oldham puts a wire on him, hoping to get the McDermotts to confess. Instead, Rehan takes Parker hostage as insurance. Disgusted, Owen joins forces with his in-laws.

They first choose Victory Union Bank to rob. However, they lose most of the cash through a comedy of errors. So then they focus on Atlas Reserve, managed by Phoebe King. Owen goes in, asking her how he can better equip his bank. Phoebe's arrogance kicks in, so she shows him all of the safeguards with him. Just as the safe open, the McDermotts create a diversion out front while Owen locks himself in and then uses the emergency escape latch to escape with the money.

At the ransom drop, Rehan is pleasantly surprised that Owen brought the money but will kill them anyway. He miraculously guns them down; then the McDermotts distract the cops so Owen can sneak back into the vault with the money.

As the McDermotts turn themselves in and help Oldham with his ex, he lets them go briefly to Owen and Parker's wedding reception.

During the credits, Owen slips a paperclip into a piece of cake for his new in-laws to use to get free of their handcuffs.

Cast

• Adam DeVine as Owen Browning
• Pierce Brosnan as Billy McDermott
• Ellen Barkin as Lilly McDermott
• Nina Dobrev as Parker McDermott
• Michael Rooker as Roger Oldham
• Poorna Jagannathan as Rehan Zakaryan
• Richard Kind as Neil Browning
• Julie Hagerty as Margie Browning
• Blake Anderson as cousin RJ
• Lauren Lapkus as Phoebe King
• Lil Rel Howery as Tyree
• Dean Winters as Vince Millen
• Laci Mosley as Marisol
• Daniel Andrew Jablons as Gary
• Sunny Sandler as Gracie
• Peggy Walton-Walker as grandma Ruth
• Mo Gallini as Boris
• Jackie Sandler as Kay
• Betsy Sodaro as chef Ida

Production

In July 2021, Pierce Brosnan was cast in the film, alongside Adam Devine, for director Tyler Spindel. 
In October 2021, Ellen Barkin, Nina Dobrev, Michael Rooker, Poorna Jagannathan, Julie Hagerty, Richard Kind, Lil Rel Howery, and Blake Anderson filled out the rest of the cast. Principal photography took place in Atlanta, Georgia from October to December 2021.

Release

The Out-Laws was released by Netflix on July 7, 2023.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 62 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "With a cast this talented, The Out-Laws can't help but provide some laughs -- but they're too few and far between to make up for the movie's derivative, sitcom-worthy setup." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Criticism

One of the weakest films of recent years. Really, a specimen of bad taste and an uninteresting script. It is surprising that actors of such caliber have agreed to film. It is very sad to watch a comedy and not even smile once. The film is also not suitable for young children due to crude jokes and bad taste.

If evaluated in a 10-point system - 1 star for expenses.