Hilarious (Meet the Parents (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Meet the Parents (DVD)
Date:	29/09/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: DeNiro, script

Disadvantages: None

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

Meet the Parents is one of the very best comedies of the last decade - it captures accurately the experience felt by most of us at one point or another, the awkwardness of meeting the parents of your partner. As a result, this is a film that a LOT of people can connect with, and it's a very inspired comedic work.

Gaylord M. "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) is a male nurse who lives in Chicago with girlfriend fiance, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), a schoolteacher. Before he can propose to her, Pam's sister Debbie (Nicole DeHuff) announces that she is engaged herself, causing Greg and Pam to have to stay at the Byrnes family home for the procedings, during which point Greg plans to propose to her in front of her family.

Here, he meets Pam's father Jack (Robert De Niro), mother Dina (Blythe Danner). DeNiro really steals the show as the retired CIA operative father, who takes an instant dislike to Greg, from his profession, to his demeanour, and generally his intentions with his daughter. This results with Greg trying to up the ante to impress him, resulting in only more trouble through a plethora of zany situations.

An interesting, and surprisingly good turn for DeNiro here, who really carries the film and makes it his own, despite the solid performances all around. DeNiro displays a previously hidden talent at comic timing, making this a film that's far better than expected - kudos to all involved, particularly the team of screenwriters, who really capture the awkwardness of meeting the parents very aptly. Clearly this was written from an (albeit exaggerated) actual experience, and will certainly resonate with the late 20s crowd, I'm sure.

Summary: A great comedy