Starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley Directed by Bryan Spicer Rated PG-13 Running time 122 minutes We give this film a rating of 5 out of 10

(Dec. 12, 1997) -- For Richer or Poorer starts as a shrilly familiar sitcom version of The War of the Roses, with Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley cast as antagonistic Manhattan marrieds.

About a half hour into the movie, though, when those two find that their accountant has cheated them into a multimillion-dollar IRS debt and they go on the lam to Pennsylvania Amish country, the entire movie takes a sharp turn for the better. The tone softens. The humor hums. The stars shine.

That's happy news for fans of two of TV's most popular regulars. While neither Allen nor Alley is particularly convincing as a member of New York City's richest and nastiest, both of them are right at home with the easygoing, fish-out-of-water humor that marks the movie's stay down on the farm.

Assigned by his hosts to plow a huge field for corn, Allen must first make friends with the huge, willful horse behind the plow. Needless to say, the horse has another agenda: First Allen needs to learn that the horse, not the man, is in charge. It's a boisterously executed bit of physical comedy.

Later in the film, in scenes deftly designed to show the couple's spiritual progress, Allen gets to try a little tenderness. That's something new for him on the big screen, and he pulls it off quite convincingly.

Even so, of the two stars, Alley fares better in For Richer or Poorer. The film's comic highlight, hands down, has her finally finding her place among the Amish by convincing the elders that adding a little color to the women's clothing would in no way compromise their commitment to the simple life.

Soon afterward the fruits of her effort are put on display at a fashion show for the community. As emcee and narrator, Alley begins by invoking the greats -- "Armani! Versace!" -- and then bringing on the home-grown models in Alley creations inspired by Amish quilts.

It's an ideal vehicle for her distinctively sly, deeply feminine brand of humor, and she runs with it.

The lead twosome get strong support from Jay O. Sanders and Megan Cavanagh, who play their Amish hosts and, until a delightful surprise twist at the end, their straight men.

In a season crammed with enormously ambitious movies, For Richer or Poorer is certainly not going to be anyone's first or even second choice. Yet when the pictures with designs on blockbuster status have had their day, this is the kind of comedy that's often just the ticket.

Once it gets past that initial gratingly noisy stretch, it asks nothing more of you than to sit back, relax, have a few laughs and learn again that money can't buy you love.