ironhorse_iv
Meeting the parents of your partner for the first time will always be nerve wracking. The pressures of making a great first impression can make any man or woman, feel awkward and nervous. For some of them, meeting the parents can turn out to be, a total disaster. Directed by Jay Roach, the film chronicles a series of excruciating moments that befall, one such man; Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), when meeting his girlfriend, Pam Byrnes's (Teri Polo) parents; overbearing father, Jack (Robert De Niro) & kind-hearted, mother Dina (Blythe Danner). Without spoiling the movie, too much, I thought the series of unfortunate events & misunderstands were very funny at the time and still, is, even if some of the jokes hasn't aged well; such with the common misconceptions and stereotypes about gender roles & sexual orientations. While, the jokes about Greg's unlucky last name were very fresh at the time for a PG-13 movie, I think, rewatching this movie, along with the films badly delivered, sequels; 2004's 'Meet the Fockers' & 2010's 'Little Fockers' have, really run that joke to the ground. It's just not as risky or funny as it used to be. Nevertheless, most of the humor is still, timeless. The whole scene of Greg, explaining, how you can milk anything with nipples, will forever, crack me up! Ben Stiller really does delivered as the good-hearted but hapless goofball of a boyfriend, without going, way, over the top with his reaction and ad lib abilities. I also love, how the movie doesn't play, too much of the slapstick physical comedy that Stiller was known for, at the time. Don't get me wrong, I love 1998's 'There's something about Mary', but I do like, how the film, for the most part, keeps the humor, realistic in tone. It makes for more, well-rounded, appealing movie, because how relatable, some of the actions scenes, were. As for Robert De Niro, it's probably, his best comedic role, ever. Even better than his role in 1999's mob comedy, 'Analyze This'. Although, playing Jack Byrnes isn't much of challenge for Niro, since there was barely any different between that movie character from the normal, dramatic commanding tough guy roles, De Niro is known for. I have to say, the role did help him, bounce back from the awfully of 2000's the live-action/animated film, 'The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle', which nearly put a halt to De Niro's comedy acting career. It really does show the public, that the man can indeed make people, laugh. One thing, I thought, the movie could had improve, upon, is giving Blythe Danner's character, more to do. Don't get me wrong, her performance was mostly fine, but Danner's talent really does seem a bit wasted, in this forgettable role. I was really, hoping for Dina, to be, just as hard on Greg as Jack is. After all, the movie is call, 'Meet the Parents', not 'Meet the Father'. Nevertheless, deep down me, I really did like the comedic performance of everybody involve with this project, ranging from James Rebhorn as Dr. Bob, Owen Wilson playing Pam's ex-fiancée, Kevin Rawley to the two five-year-old Himalayan cats that both played Mr. Jinx. I just wish, the female characters, had more to do, than stand them, looking disgust or embarrassed at Greg's actions. Regardless of that, the movie has more to give, than jokes. The movie was very well-shot. There is no better, example of fine-filmmaking than the roof scene. The way, Roach & his crew was able to show, multiply times, happening, at once is amazing. Another great thing, about this movie is the music, compose by music artist, Randy Newman. All of them, are easy-listening & worth checking out on their own. After all, Newman's original song "A Fool in Love" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. So it's worth a listen or two. Overall: I have to say, this is one of those remakes that really outshine the original movie. It makes 1992's independent film of the same name look unfunny, cheap, and amateurism. 2001's 'Meet the Parent' is a fairly good film to sit down and watch with the whole family. That's no lie. I truly do like this comedy. No need for a polygraph test to prove that.
ryklinker
It's every man's worst nightmare: meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. This idea is even more intimidating for Greg Focker (Stiller), a male nurse, who hopes to soon propose to his girlfriend Pam. As Pam's sister has just been proposed to, the couple is invited to the wedding, and meets Pam's parents. On first glance, Pam's father Jack is kind and loving; however, we soon see Jack calling someone for Greg's legal records and files. Even for the most innocent person, this is something that you do not want someone to be investigating into. As the two men talk more and more, Jack becomes more and more suspicious and unforgiving towards Greg. Not long after, polygraph tests are given, events become disasters, and life for Greg becomes a torment.I originally wanted to see this because it featured my favorite actor, Robert De Niro. Though he usually is in a role where he is a mobster, hit-man, etc., this is one of the roles where he tried his hand at comedic acting. After successes like Analyze This, where he made fun of his tough- guy persona, he received more lighthearted roles, and this is one of them. The plot itself is simple. A man meets his potential father-in-law, and the father-in-law makes his time miserable. Before I hit "Play", I thought, "Well they'll have some good jokes, Stiller will do his usually shenanigans, and it'll end soundly. Needless to say, it did not go as I thought. The basic plot's humor wears off within the first 40 minutes, and the remaining 1 hour and 8 minutes is just potty humor, distasteful sex jokes, and Ben Stiller looking stupid (as usual). I'm not sure if it was my expectations coming into the film that were too high, or the quality of the film was so low in actuality, but I did not like this film very much. I can appreciate low-brow humor when it is done correctly, but the Stiller brand of comedy is not one that I've ever found good, and I doubt that I ever will. www.sportsandcelluloid.blogspot.com
