I may be projecting here, but in my opinion, the genre of film comedy is going through a bit of an “ awkward phase.” It’s inevitable really. As much as the world needs comedy, especially now, the idea of what’s funny changes much more rapidly than tragedy or love. What was hilarious a decade or two ago, can definitely be seen as problematic now. This is far from a complaint or a political rant. Again, it’s inevitable that values change with time. But I’m sort of feeling it with comedy films of the last few years that the writers aren’t entirely sure what to do anymore. Is it better to just keep making films along the lines of American Pie, There’s Something About Mary, or Meet the Parents to placate the now aging Gen X and Millennial audience? Should they play it overly safe and churn out a downright boring film just to not risk offending anyone? Or do they dare study current trends in what people find funny these days, while still working to not make jokes at the expense of any marginalized groups? Well, here comes The Out-Laws, an interesting example of a comedy era “awkward phase” in that it encompasses all three of the above qualities.

Owen Browning (Adam DeVine) is a young bank manager about to marry Parker McDermott (Nina Dobrev), a yoga instructor, whose estranged parents contact her to attend the wedding. As they have been living in the Amazon for the duration of their relationship, Owen is looking forward to meeting them. Parker is concerned because she believes they can be a bit much. When Owen’s parents (Julie Hagerty and Richard Kind) find out that Parker’s parents are attending the wedding, they comment on how odd it is that her parents weren’t there, thus explaining why she is “a stripper”. Owen talks with the storage space facility where her parents rent, as he’s hoping to access photos of Parker for a wedding photo montage. His call inadvertently alerts an Eastern European mobster to their return. During Parker’s yoga class the following night, the McDermotts (Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin) let themselves into Parker’s home and scared Owen. Owen takes the day off the next day to spend with his in-laws. Their agenda includes skydiving, tattoos, and drinking. After that, a pair of infamous criminals known as “Ghost Bandits” rob the bank. Due to the robbery occurring during his wedding week, certain hints, including the cologne he wears and flashbacks to the bar, lead him to suspect that the robbers might in fact be his future in-laws. The Out-Laws was directed by Tyler Spindel (Father of the Year, The Wrong Missy), written by Ben Zazove (Sherlock Gnomes) and Evan Turner (his first feature film), and produced by Adam Sandler, Adam DeVine, and Allen Covert.

First of all, my bar for comedic male leads may be set pretty low at this point, but DeVine’s Owen character was absolutely adorable, and honestly, my favorite part of the movie. And, yes, I know he’s played similar to that in Pitch Perfect and Modern Family, but he really does do it well. I’m not saying all guy leads in comedies need to be this way, but I’m really loving the dorky, pure-hearted, a tad-too-naive-for-their-own-good types. Jason Segel, Steve Carell, and Goku walked so the likes of Owen (and even better example, Ted Lasso) could run.

Of course, the aforementioned title characters of The Out-Laws should be the real selling point. Personally, my inner James Bond fan-girl will probably scream any time Pierce Brosnan is on screen. I’m especially happy any time these days I see him for more than just a cameo or side character. (Yeah, he’s still sexy as hell at his age, and the film definitely acknowledges it.) Almost equally sexy is his partner played by the lovely Ellen Barkin. While I doubt the script really gave her much to work with, she managed to pull off “fierce” with a few words and a lot of looks.

Charming cast aside, this film’s major drawback was that it wasn’t sure exactly what it wanted to be. It was definitely conceived for the Gen X and Millennial crowd. But alas, jokes that probably would have been included in this movie ten or twenty years ago, were mostly omitted, or heavily watered down. A majority of the humor had to come down to slapstick, and almost entirely at poor Owen’s expense. Not saying I don’t enjoy a good bit of slapstick, but leaning on it too much can get exhausting. It just seems that writers at this point don’t quite know how to write for this type of comedy anymore, and therefore either play it safe, dumb, or both. And I get where they are coming from. It’s much less of a risk to have a dull comedy under your name than getting canceled a few years down the road.

Not to say this movie is entirely a write-off. There are still a good handful of genuinely funny moments, and even a couple of amusing action sequences. But the moments of “good” that were there just felt lacking. I wanted so much to laugh more than I did, as this film features a tremendously funny cast, and the story is genuinely interesting to me. Again, the writing struggled to find enough clever moments of dialogue to really push this into “hilarious” territory.

I get it. Writing comedy is one of the hardest genres. If I think I were more talented than these guys at it, I’d be doing it myself. And much like any awkward step in evolution during a transitional time period, I’m glad films like The Out-Laws exist. It may not have been exactly perfect, but it shows where we came from and where we need to improve in what we find funny as a society.