The In-Law Gang! – Review

1st July 2023

Cassie (Jessie Jalee) and John (Nashawn Kearse) get married in Las Vegas and John is more than happy to tell his mother, Bernie (Drue Horne). Unfortunately, Bernie has never liked Cassie and the news only heightens her feelings towards her.

Soon, Bernie and John’s father, John Sr. (Clifton Powell) start hatching a plan on how to get rid of her and with enough convincing, John Jr. starts to believe it. Cassie only has Damion (Alfred E. Rutherford) to turn to though and considering John’s starting to think that he’s the father of their daughter, Cassie isn’t making it look too good. With her world feeling like it’s crumbling around her, Cassie has had enough and decides it’s time for revenge.

The In-Law Gang is a comedy directed by J. Jesses Smith and written by Jessie Jalee, inspired by her own experiences. A plot which has the potential to be a fun, comedy of errors movie, unfortunately ends up being a little too close to the bone to be funny.

The issues of infidelity could be something which if done right could be hilarious. It’s just unfortunate that Jalee’s script is a little too focussed on setting up the betrayal and spends too little time on the pay off.

It does paint a vivid picture of what exactly Cassie endured with her in-laws, but the insistence on realism makes the movie feel like a family drama rather than an adult comedy. While this may make the audience sympathise with her, the weight of the story leaves no room for laughs.

This is even more compounded when the audience finds out what Cassie does for revenge and considering this is inspired by real events, it does get a little bit worrying about the state of its writer’s mind. The performances are good and although it is a rather amateurish production, the audience gets to know Cassie and can feel for her situation and the pressure she’s under.

The problem is that by the end, the audience may have all but given up on her as her behaviour crosses a line. Add to that a rather lazy ending which excuses all of her actions and it feels more like catharsis for Jalee than anything enjoyable for the audience.

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