For Richer or Poorer (1997): Dir: Bryan Spicer / Cast: Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, Jay O'Sanders, Larry Miller, Wayne Knight: Rich in terms of message yet poor in everything else. Title suggests our little regard for what little we have particularly within relationships. Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley play a bickering couple on the run after their accountant commits fraud. Their marriage is on the rocks but they must put their difference aside and hideout. They find refuge in an Amish community where Allen is put to work training Big John the horse and Alley tries to convince them to wear color. Plot has appeal but the screenplay wears thin with formula structure and predictable happy ending. An improvement for Bryan Spicer who previously directed the wretched McHale's Navy, also the same year. Allen and Alley are a superb comic pairing who rise above the clichés and formula storytelling although no one should be surprised at the outcome. Flat supporting roles with Jay O'Sanders as an Amish citizen whom they deceive but eventually must confess to. Larry Miller plays a brainless cop with good comic potential despite cardboard role. Wayne Knight plays the scoundrel accountant in a cardboard appearance. Strong marriage theme, which is a plus considering the industry's lust for the forbidden, however it is within a screenplay that is more poor than rich. Score: 6 / 10
Review of For Richer or Poorer
