Meet The Parents

Have you ever had one of those days where everything just goes from bad to worse to apocalyptically horrendous? Well, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is having one of those weeks. He showed up at the school his girlfriend, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo from The Arrival), works at to propose to her. In the process he found out that her sister’s boyfriend asked for her father’s permission before he did anything. Now he has to. Problem is her father is Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro). So he has to impress an ex-CIA agent who has the means at his fingertips to find out anything about Greg’s life or even ruin it forever. How do you stand that much pressure? Well, you give Pam’s sister a black eye, lose a cat and accidentally insult everything that Mr. Byrnes holds dear.

Oh, and you threaten to change his daughter’s last name to Focker. It’s really bad when they realize what that means when combined with her middle name. (Greg’s name brings no end of fun. It may seem like a cheap joke, but for some reason I never got tired of it. And neither did the audience I saw it with.)

And the whole thing starts with Greg losing his luggage. Damn those airport people.

With just that little bit of a premise this movie keeps the laughs coming for it’s full 107 minutes. Jay Roach (Austin Powers 1&2 and Mystery, Alaska) has finally made a great movie outside of the Austin Powers franchise. (Mystery wasn’t bad, but it was a clichéd story that really couldn’t go anywhere.) The only disconcerting thing about it is the fact that Emo Phillips is one of the associate producers. What the hell is that all about? I guess he was in and produced the original (yes, this is a remake), so he can have something to do with this one. But it shouldn’t be good with his name on it.

Ben Stiller is so good at this kind of character that I don’t think he even needs to think about it anymore. You know, the Every Guy that everything goes wrong with. He’s kind of a dork, but somehow remains cool. Then, by the end he explodes all over someone. (This time it’s an obnoxious flight attendant.) He’s got to be one of the funniest people in the movie business today. He doesn’t even have to do anything but look at the camera in his self-conscious, “Why is this happening to me?” way and you laugh automatically.

But the real star of this movie is DeNiro. For someone who’s not known for comedy he sure has been doing a lot of them lately. And he’s done a hell of a job in them, too. But he did start out in comedy. Check out a couple of nearly unknown Brian DePalma flicks, Hi Mom and Greetings. I’ve only seen Hi, Mom and it was cool, but very weird. DeNiro, of course, was great. I hear Greetings is pretty good, too. (There’s one more shot in 1963 called The Wedding Party-also a DePalma flick-but that one is supposed to suck on ice.) But he didn’t stop there. Midnight Run is a great movie. As is King Of Comedy, but no one wants to give that one a chance. And, of course, Brazil is a classic.

But since 1996′s Marvin’s Room (not a comedy, but his role is comedic) he’s been doing mainly comedy. Wag The Dog, Jackie Brown (again, not strictly comedy, but he’s funny in it), Analyze This and…well…Rocky And Bullwinkle. And three out of four of them are great and I hear that he was the best part of R&B.

But I digress…all the time.

Basically, DeNiro steals the movie from the real comedian. He’s amazing as always as the overbearing dad who just wants the best for his daughters. It may not be the same performances that Bobby used to put in, but this one was worth seeing him once again parody himself. He makes us alternately hate and love the character. Anyone else probably would have just made him into an evil father in law or given him no edge at all. Luckily DeNiro knows when to show his heart and when to show his teeth.

This was a great movie. It’s a lot of fun and worth the full price of admission just to see Robert DeNiro put Ben Stiller through the ringer.

And, for God’s sake, keep an eye on those Fockers!

By the way, there will be a sequel. Jay Roach is already working on it. This time Mr. Byrnes goes to meet Greg’s family. Of course it’s called Meet The Fockers. Imagine a bunch of kids telling their parents that they want to see that one. Soap sales go through the roof.