MEET THE PARENTS
Review by John Beachem
* * * 1/2
Directed by: Jay Roach Written by: Greg Glienna, Mary Ruth Clarke, Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Greg (Ben Stiller) is simply nuts about his girlfriend, Pam (Teri Polo). In fact, he was planning on proposing to her until he learned he should ask her father, Jack's (Robert DeNiro) permission first. So, the two run off to meet the parents. Pam's mom, Dina (Blythe Danner), is a kind, pleasant natured woman. Jack, meanwhile, seems to be testing Greg all the time. He even goes so far as to hook Greg up to an antique polygraph machine. Nevertheless, Greg tries to make the best of things and make a good impression. He meets Pam's sister, Debbie (Nicole DeHuff), who is getting married in one day; Debbie's mother and father (James Rebhorn, Phyllis George), who take an immediate disliking to him; Pam's pothead brother, Denny (Jon Abrahams); and finally, in a moment of sheer cruelty, he's introduced to Pam's rich former fiancee, Kevin (Owen Wilson). Greg keeps trying to make a good impression, but things go from bad, to worse, to absolutely miserable in less than 24 hours.
There's something strangely amusing about watching people completely humiliate themselves, isn't there? Something about watching a person do everything we know they shouldn't be doing to get out of already embarrassing situations. This is basically the only kind of humor you're going to find in "Meet the Parents", so if you're one of those rare people who doesn't find that sort of thing amusing, steer clear. Whenever I think of this sort of humor, one thing always leaps to mind. A British comedy series called "Fawlty Towers", in which John Cleese plays a stuck-up, priggish owner of a hotel who is always making himself look like a complete jerk. The difference between "Fawlty Towers" and "Meet the Parents" is that while Cleese's character deserves everything that happens to him, Stiller's character doesn't. Greg is such a likeable guy that it almost ruins the humor at times because you feel so sorry for him. If the roles had been reversed, and embarrassing things had been happening to Jack Byrnes, it might very well have been even funnier. Still, I can't rate a movie based on how I would have done things, and that's fine because taken on its own merits, "Meet the Parents" is a lot of fun.
"Meet the Parents" is carried entirely by the not inconsiderable comic talents of Stiller and DeNiro, but that's to be expected in a comedy like this. Having a large cast in a film of this sub-genre would ruin it, because you wouldn't get to know the characters' personalities as well. Stiller and DeNiro (particularly DeNiro) are obviously having a great time, and this carries over well to the audience. Stiller, who can go a bit overboard sometimes ("Mystery Men", anyone?), plays Greg as very likeable, but at the same time a little too eager to please (that's not an insult, the character should be played like that). DeNiro, on the other hand, has a great time hamming it up in a gleefully self-effacing performance. He's clearly making fun of himself, but he's having a grand time doing it. Blythe Danner ("Mad City") gives a pleasant performance as the good-natured mom, Dina. She's so nice in fact you can't help but wonder how on earth she hooked up with Jack. Teri Polo ("The Arrival") is a fairly talented actress, but she's horribly underused. Finally we have Owen Wilson ("Shanghai Noon"), turning up in an absolutely useless part as Pam's ex-fiancee. Wilson is a very entertaining comic actor, but he's given nothing to do in this pointless role.
If you're walking into "Meet the Parents" expecting another "There's Something About Mary", you're in for a disappointment. This isn't the kind of movie where you'll be laughing non-stop, it's a bit too sentimental for that. There are a lot of chuckles, and one or two massive laughs, but this one won't have you ready to pass out from laughing. Two of the absolute funniest scenes I can think of are the family's first dinner, and Greg's trip to the airport. The dinner scene is so funny because you have to sympathize with poor Greg, trying to make a good impression on his future mother and father in-law.Yet of course, as you knew was going to happen, everything goes horribly and hysterically wrong. The airport scene is great because anyone who has travelled has been there before. Greg deals with a stream of curt flight attendants who speak in uncaring, monotone voices, while they type a mile a minute on their computer consoles and inform him that he can't board the plane yet, because they're only seating aisles nine and up (he's in aisle eight, and there aren't any other passengers waiting to board the plane).
Unfortunately, there are a few things in the film that I didn't care for. First, the joke about Greg's name. It's Focker, and as Greg says, it's pronounced just how it looks. Now, when they first made fun of this, yes I laughed. I laughed the second time, and the third time, and I at least chuckled a bit by the fourth time. After about two dozen times making fun of his name, I was more than a little tired of it. Of course, that could just be me, because the rest of the audience laughed continuously at it. Second, a few of the characters are never developed in any way. While this wouldn't normally bother me, it does when the cast consists of only about eight actors. What bothers me even more is that one of the characters who is never developed is Pam. We know next to nothing about her by the end of the movie. Those few complaints aside, "Meet the Parents" is an entertaining, fairly light hearted movie (I say fairly because it does get a bit mean-spirited once or twice). It's a good way to spend a couple of hours, but don't expect much from it. The film runs a touch too long at 108 minutes. I'd recommend it to fans of Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro since both turn in highly entertaining performances, and I give the movie three and a half out of five stars.
Comments? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net
Past reviews can be found at: http://www.epinions.com/user-elerad or http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year. * * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one. * * * - Okay movie, hits and misses. * * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk. * - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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