just watch it!

Boring

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I have always enjoyed this movie. Everybody always talks about Witness being the best Amish film (they even reference it in this movie!), but I've always found Witness to be a bit too scary, although I do watch it sometimes. For Richer or Poorer is a lovely, funny, and heart-warming movie -- the Amish movie to watch when you want to relax and unwind. My favorite scene is near the end when Tim Allen and Jay O. Sanders are standing in the corn field and Tim is marveling that the corn he had struggled to plant is growing so tall and full. Jay then says that he finds it ironic that the English have always viewed the Amish as backward, and as hiding from reality. Then he points towards to growing corn and says, "But this is the reality....it is not we who are hiding." Kirstie Allen and Tim Allen, as well as well-known character actors Wayne Knight and Larry Miller, provide big laughs throughout. Great writing, some interesting side stories, beautiful landscapes, and an interesting window into Amish life, all make this movie a winner!

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

Another reviewer commented that Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley are very mismatched in this film. And that that works perfectly for the plot, and how they play off one another. I agree. "For Richer or Poorer," by its title, gives a hint that this is about someone finding happiness as a result of losing their wealth. The beginning is a very clever montage of high spending, fancy meals, huge purchases, credit cards and bills. It set the stage, at least for me, with a bad taste in my mouth for the consumerism and almost glutinous lifestyle. It's no wonder the couple isn't happy or content. On their 10th anniversary, Brad and Caroline agree to a divorce. And, with the IRS on their tale, they no longer have credit anywhere. So, they go on the run to escape a gun-happy IRS agent. While their lawyer tries to straighten things out, the couple land in Pennsylvania Amish country and assume the ID of a cousin couple going to visit their Amish relatives. One can guess the antics that take place as these two learn to do chores and menial work for a change. And, in time, how it changes them. I think the film is a kind look at the Amish, possibly with a couple of light jabs. At one point early in the film, Brad unveils a proposed theme-park development that appears to mock most religions. It goes over like a lead balloon with his audience – and I suspect, most of us in the film audience as well. Other than that, this light comedy is a pretty good story of redemption. Brad and Caroline learn about real life, and the happiness and love it brings. It's a story about recovering one's life away from the fast lane of consumerism and hedonism. It's about finding freedom from enslavement to things and money. And that all works nicely in this comedy format.

First of all , i have to agree with flash-108 from Texas , because he said pretty much of what I was gonna say about this movie.I would give this movie 9 out of 10 stars because it's a very enjoyable comedy , a feel-good movie with a very good message. Maybe the people who have seen it were so desperate for laughing that they ignored what the movie wanted to say in the first place. I liked this movie because it's a good comedy that actually says something ; a great movie that I would't bother watching once a year , just to remember that the greatest things in life are the simplest ones , not the artificiality that we consider good & modern life. After seeing this movie one song and one phrase keeps coming in my head...Return to innocence...