To its credit, The Out-Laws gets the best part of the movie out of the way quickly… it’s a clever title that may remind you of the far superior (and similarly themed) The In-Laws. That’s where the similarities end though. It’s otherwise an overlong assault of desperate and odd annoyance comedy.

The flick stars Adam Devine and Nina Dobrev as a doubtful couple getting ready for their big day. Dobrev’s parents show up in her life for the first time in years… and take an instant disliking to Devine (and who wouldn’t?). They are also secret bank robbers planning their next heist.

This movie lives and dies by your enjoyment of (or tolerance for) Adam Devine. Unfortunately for him (and even more unfortunately for us) his dialog and comedic instincts are way off base. His character is insufferably annoying and never really gets much better through the course of the movie. To be fair, his character is meant to be annoying so Devine plays him perfectly (I guess) but that doesn’t make spending 90 minutes with him any more fun.

While Dobrev is just along for the ride, there are some decent moments for the actors playing the parents. Somehow they roped Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin into this as the criminal parents and Julie Hagerty and Richard Kind as the other set of in-laws. Brosnan seems to be having fun with his swashbuckling facial hair… even if he was forced at gunpoint to say some of his cringier lines of dialog.

This is a crushingly unfunny fit of desperation comedy… the kind of comedy where you just frown at every lame, obvious, and bizarre joke that just doesn’t land. I enjoyed seeing the older actors on screen and wish Dobrev had been given more to work with. But really it’s the fault of the screenwriter and Devine’s special brand of irritation that sinks this film.

Score: 64