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For Richer or Poorer
For Richer or Poorer
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bryan Spicer
Written by	Jana Howington; Steve LuKanic
Produced by	Bill Sheinberg ; Jon Sheinberg ; Sid Sheinberg
Starring	Tim Allen; Kirstie Alley; Jay O. Sanders; Michael Lerner; Wayne Knight; Larry Miller;
Cinematography	Buzz Feitshans IV
Edited by	Russell Denove
Music by	Randy Edelman
Production; company	The Bubble Factory
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	December 12, 1997;
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$32.7 million

For Richer or Poorer is a 1997 American slapstick comedy film directed by Bryan Spicer starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley as a New York socialite couple who decide to end their spoiled relationship. The supporting cast includes Jay O. Sanders, Michael Lerner, Wayne Knight, and Larry Miller.

Despite featuring the presence of Allen and Alley, For Richer or Poorer gained negative reviews from critics and was a box office failure, grossing $32.7 million worldwide.

Plot

New York City millionaire socialite Brad Sexton turns his marriage's 10th anniversary party into a real estate development pitch for "The Holy Land", a theme park modeled after Biblical lore. Eventually, one of the display's special effects catches a guest's dress on fire. Furious, Brad's wife Caroline decides to divorce him.

Meanwhile, Brad's accountant, Bob Lachman is stealing the Sextons' millions through mismanagement and filing false tax returns. The money manipulations catch the attention of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and field agent Frank Hall demands to meet Bob and Brad the following morning to bring the obligations up to date and settle the missing $5 million. Bob made Brad his scapegoat, since all the tax returns that Bob committed fraud are in Brad's name.

Fearing that the Sextons could be fleeing, Hall orders the freezing of all their assets. Brad eventually gets Bob on the phone, who admits to being the cause of their newfound problems while heading for the airport.

IRS Inspector Derek Lester joins Hall to serve the warrant and bring in the Sextons. As Brad exits a bank (trying to chase down his car being towed), Hall and Lester surround him. Brad takes out his new satellite phone to answer a call, but Lester mistakes it for a gun and pulls out his own pistol, shooting it out of Brad's hand.

Brad flees, steals a cab and happens to pick up Caroline. The Sextons escape from Hall, Lester and the police (who apprehend the agents for reckless pursuit) and leave New York. They crash the cab into a swamp and are forced to spend that night sleeping rough, covered in mud. The next day, they find themselves in Intercourse, Pennsylvania, a small Lancaster County-area community of Old Order Amish. Brad drops in on a conversation and after stealing clothes, they masquerade as Jacob and Emma, a family's expected cousins from Missouri. Samuel and Levinia Yoder, along with their sons and daughters, make the pair at home.

Gradually, the pair learns to fit in through their own abilities. Brad with his knowledge of real estate values, helps Samuel's future son-in-law Henner buy some land, and Caroline's knowledge of fashion helps their conservative ordnung relax their colorless dress code.

The Sextons then rediscover why they fell in love in the first place, largely through their efforts of helping others rather than themselves. As Samuel and Levinia's daughter Rebecca exchanges vows with Henner, the ceremony is interrupted by police and a drenched Hall and Lester, who crashed into the stolen cab. The Sextons are exposed and hauled back to New York to face trial. Brad's attorney Phil Kleinmann reveals that he found Bob in Zürich and had him extradited back to the United States. Bob is hauled into the courtroom by officers to face the Sextons and confesses. Brad thanks Bob for saving his marriage and then knocks him out in retribution for his actions. Charges against the Sextons are dropped.

Brad and Caroline beg the Yoders for forgiveness, to no avail. As they turn to leave, Samuel reveals that he and Levinia knew the whole time of the ruse. They put up with it, because it was planting season and they needed the extra help. Brad offers to give his watch as a present only to be told that the Amish cannot accept gifts, only trades. He then proceeds to trade the watch for Big John, a Belgian horse that Brad tamed largely by luck and some corn. Brad also tells Sam not to "open the back of the watch;" the watch seems to have in it a risque picture, which amuses him. Brad and Caroline later drive a pickup with a horse trailer hauling Big John. They traded their 1997 Jaguar for the truck. Caroline eventually reveals that she is pregnant with their first child.

Cast

Tim Allen as Brad Sexton
Kirstie Alley as Caroline Sexton
Jay O. Sanders as Samuel Yoder
Michael Lerner as Phil Kleinmann
Wayne Knight as Bob Lachman
Larry Miller as IRS Inspector Derek Lester
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as IRS Field Agent Frank Hall
Megan Cavanagh as Levinia Yoder
Carrie Preston as Rebecca Yoder
John Pyper-Ferguson as Henner Lapp
John Caponera as Dave
Ethan Phillips as Jerry
Bobby Steggert as Samuel Yoder Jr.
Michael Angarano as Sammy Yoder
Kathleen More as Anna Yoder
Hunter & Scout Stover as Baby Sam Yoder
Marla Maples as Cynthia
Anthony Azizi as Malik Ali Farquhar

Production

The film was shot between April and July 1997 in New York City, Maryland and Pennsylvania. According to the Maryland Film Office in 1997, For Richer or Poorer helped bring in $12 million to $16 million for the state.^[1] A significant portion of the film's $35 million budget went to actor Tim Allen, who reportedly received $16 million for the project.^[2] Allen shot the film during the break between the sixth and seventh seasons of his sitcom Home Improvement. It is to date the last film by Bryan Spicer, who had previously directed Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995 and McHale's Navy, a film released earlier in 1997 which had also performed poorly at the box office.

Reception

For Richer or Poorer was a box office flop, earning $32.7 million on an estimated budget of $35 million.^[3] Reviews of the film were mainly negative. It currently holds a 17% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews.^[4] On the December 13, 1997 episode of Siskel & Ebert, it received a thumbs down from Roger Ebert and a "marginal thumbs down" from Gene Siskel, with Siskel preferring the more serious moments of the film over the comedic parts.^[5] In his other review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars. Regarding the film and Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley's performances, he stated: "I admired their sheer professionalism. The plot is a yawner... But they succeed somehow in bringing a certain charm to their scenes, and they never miss with a laugh line."^[6] Hollis Chacona of The Austin Chronicle gave it 1 out of 5 stars in December 1997, and labelled it as a "soundly unfunny, roundly implausible movie that purports to extol human values and expose the underbelly of materialistic life."^[7] He added, "except for a nasty little turn by Marla Maples as the Queen of Victorious Divorces, and some lovely, bucolic scenery, For Richer or Poorer is not even remotely interesting."^[7] Chris Hewitt of The Spokesman-Review criticized the film for making "shameless and humorless fun of the Amish."^[8]

At the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley were nominated for Worst On-Screen Couple but lost to Jean-Claude van Damme and Dennis Rodman for Double Team.^[9] Shortly after her death in 2022, Rolling Stone included For Richer or Poorer on a list of Kirstie Alley's 14 most memorable roles.^[10]