MEET THE PARENTS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Ben Stiller plays a man brought
home to meet his girlfriend's family. With the
religious and class differences, things would be
bad enough, but the judgmental and unfriendly
father, played by Robert DeNiro, may just
destroy the entire relationship. This is an
uneasy blend of drama, comedy, and contrived
slapstick that only occasionally works. This is
a big budget remake of the 1992 film where
perhaps things may worked a little better in a
more modest production. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), 0
(-4 to +4)
In China in 1982 I turned the tables on our National Guide and asked him if he had any questions about America. I guess I was expecting some sort of political question. Instead, I was dumfounded by what was most on his mind. "In America, do wives and their mothers-in-law get along well?" He assured me in China that they did, but I am certain if that were true he would not have asked. Even in China people seem to have problems relating to in- laws. Perhaps some of life's most difficult relationships arise when families are suddenly artificially joined by marriage. A man trying to relate to his new prospective in-laws and vice-versa could be the basis of a very strong comedy. MEET THE PARENTS does not demonstrate that fact, however.
Greg Focker (played by Ben Stiller) has been dating and in love with Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) for ten months and is now ready to propose to her. He will do it during a weekend visit to meet Debbie's family and to attend her sister's wedding. From the beginning the relationship is awkward between Greg and Jack and Dina Byrnes (Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner). Through no fault of his own, the airline has lost Greg's luggage. And he has to ask to borrow clothing. It is the beginning of a game of one-upmanship in which Greg is nearly always one-down. As the games go on Greg is more and more uncomfortable and uneasy which only contributes to the mistakes he makes. Greg is playing a game he does not understand, in a league he is new to. But perhaps along the way he will discover some unexpected secrets about his father-in-law.
This film had potential in its tale of one-upmanship. It has hit on a situation that many in the audience may find familiar--one that has not been done overly frequently in films. But the script by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg is a little too contrived. Too many coincidences in the story work against Greg. The script could not decide if the main character was incompetent or simply unlucky. Certainly he does not help his situation by doing everything wrong he possibly could, but even when he is trying to do the right things nature conspires against him. There is an uneven mix of slapstick sequences and human comedy. Certainly the last part of the film feels awkwardly written.
The main reason to see MEET THE PARENTS is to see Robert DeNiro's performance. DeNiro plays the suspicious and not a little fascistic father as tightly wound and threatening as he can. The little judgmental expressions on his face are a show in themselves as Greg digs himself deeper and deeper into his insecurities. But we do not really see much of that digging. Ben Stiller is an affable presence in the film but is not really stretching himself by playing the role as the nebbish to whom so many bad things happen. It is nice to see Blythe Danner again on the screen. But her character has a basic conflict between a basic decency and her love for her husband and the script should have given her more to do with that.
Randy Newman has written a playful score. In the first few seconds of the film it does something creative I have never heard a film score do before. There is a lot of source music that is popular music of the 1960s. Presumably that is what the upper class listens to at least in somebody's imagination.
Humor is subjective and some this film has been getting some favorable comment. But this is a comedy that works only occasionally for me. I would have to rate it 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 2000 Mark R. Leeper
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