Apparently not very demanding at all, Bryan Spicer's "For Richer or Poorer" remains a pleasure to watch in 2017, as it was when it came out. Perhaps because of its Amish setting, there is a particular timelessness about the concept of city slickers in trouble with the law and with a marriage on the rocks rediscovering older, deeper values - and each other - that defies or goes beyond both this movie's sillier moments or easy attempts to ridicule or deride the piece on the part of the watcher. At some level there is a pleasant depth and warmth here that owes much to Tim Allen's approach to movies, as nicely complemented by Kirstie Alley's surprisingly tangible sexiness ... and considerable capacity for comedy. The fact that both play characters incompetent and out of their depth in the midst of the simplicity and incredible hard work of the rural idyll in which they find themselves (for them actually a refuge from the IRS) is fun, but far augmented by the actuak willingness of the characters to adapt, muck in and keep trying, which ultimately yields its rewards.

And the reward for us watching is to note the at-times sweet and subtle ways in which our misfitting pair experiencing strained relations gradually come back to each other. Those not made of stone will find themselves rooting for the couple, willing them to get back together - and that surely has much to say about the good and the bad (but also the essential value and sweetness and even sanctity) of the much-derided institution of marriage.

If the Amish presentation is a bit one-dimensional, well it's certainly not hostile, indeed doing much to suggest that this lifestyle is an ideal one that can change much for the better.

It's actually surprising that one even feels the need to raise such issues in the context of what looks at first glance like nothing more than a lightweight screwball comedy, but then that is really a tribute to this film, which in my view achieves quite a bit more than it sets out to.

Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley made one of the most mismatched couples I have ever seen, but that was the beauty of this movie, and the key to why it was so funny. They played off of each other very well. I also liked the fact that it didn't bash religion the way a lot of movies do nowadays, and that it won out at the end of the day.

My only complaint about this movie was the scene where they spent the night sleeping in a cow pasture. Kirstie Alley was either very distracted or had to have her nose cut off not to notice until early the next morning that she was sleeping in cow manure. Whoever wrote that script obviously didn't spend much time in the country. To him (or her),I say if you're standing or sleeping in the middle of cow manure, you would notice it right away. Kirstie Alley is a Kansas girl. I'm surprised she didn't take the writers to task over this.

Otherwise, this was a pretty upbeat, pretty funny movie. (I guess Big John was saying in horsease "I don't think so, Tim."). Seven out of ten for this one.

This movie strikes me as the reverse of Tim Allen's Home Improvement. There, Tim's the over the top ham and his sidekick Al is the tempering force trying to contain him. Here, the Amish do the job and they are the greater force that really tone him down while still giving him plenty of opportunities to be funny. The theme of materialism getting into the way of relationships is needed in 2006 even more than in 1997 when this movie was released. It would be well for everyone to re-watch it now to realize that materialism has gotten totally out of control in today's world. Another thing that makes this movie enjoyable is that it isn't frantic like most comedies are. Too many try to emulate the Marx Brothers. In the frantic lives we do lead today to sustain our materialism, it is nice to have something slower paced yet still not bore you to death.