When male nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) goes to meet his girlfriend (Teri Polo)'s parents one weekend, things don't quite go as he hoped. Her father, Jack (Robert De Niro), is a retired CIA spycatcher. With Focker's determination to win Jack's approval so that he can marry Pam, and Jack's obsessive protection of his daughter and disapproval of all her boyfriends, things go from bad worse.
Meet The Parents is an entertaining movie, with some great comedy moments, that work despite most being quite heavily telegraphed. There perhaps aren't enough to funny monets though. The film is kept very watchable by Stiller and De Niro.
Robert De Niro finally makes a mark in comedy after the patchy and disappointing Analyse This. Ben Stiller is a far more effective foil than Billy Crystal. De Niro's implacable, intimidating disapproval makes Focker all the more nervous and drives him to greater and greater extremes to win approval.This is where the movie's finest moments come from, like Jack hooking Focker up to the polygraph machine he happens to keep in his office. The best running gag is simply all Pam's family saying 'Focker' all the time.
Shangahi Noon's Owen Wilson makes a brief appearance as Pam's ex, Kevin. Sadly underused though eh is, it's another demonstartion of how well him and Stiller work together. They are definitely a comedy partnership to watch out for in the future. 7/10 |
