Don't get paranoid! (Meet the Parents (DVD))

Member Name: cpf1993

Product:	Meet the Parents (DVD)
Date:	18/12/00 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of funny lines, stellar performances by Stiller and DeNiro.

Disadvantages: It might make you paranoid around your in-laws!

"Meet The Parents" is an extremely funny film based around Greg (played by Ben Stiller) trying to get into the good books of prospective father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro), so that he have his approval to marry his daughter Pam (Teri Polo).

While the film was not quite laugh-a-minute it does carry on easily enough. The humour grows as the film progresses while the story also develops nicely. An awful lot of incidents are packed in,and I found myself being surprised when I learnt that it was only 107 minutes in length.

So what do the 107 minutes comprise? Well, even if you are not into gushy love stories (yes, the film has a predictable ending) you will probably like this film, especially if you have ever been nervous about meeting your partner's parents. Alternatively if you have had a nightmarish weekend where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, you will also sympathise with what happens to Greg in this film.

Everything that could go wrong for Greg, goes wrong. His case will not pass as hand-luggage, so it has to go in the hold. Needless to say it is lost, along with the prospective engagement ring. What is probably worse though is Greg having to borrow Jack's clothes, something neither men are comfortable with. As the story progresses Greg finds out that Jack is an ex-CIA man, for whom the key is to get (and stay) inside his "ring of trust".

Greg is swamped by nightmare after nightmare. He is told about the secret cameras in the house, breaks the urn with Jack's mother's ashes inside and is subjected to lie-detector test. And that's only the first night! The next day he is paraded among his prospective sister-in-law and future in-laws, whilst only wearing pyjamas! And as if all that is not bad enough she meets Pam's former fiancée, who he never knew about. As if that was not enough of a shock he is successful, rich and multi-talented. Greg is merely a nurse, ridiculed
by all the men he meets.

Where the film is most effective is in slowly building up the sympathetic vote for Greg. We can see what he is trying to do, in an effort to impress his girlfriend's family. We also see the unfortunate results, and the scathing reactions of Pam's family. Ben Stiller is highly effective as the hapless Greg, showing him as eager to please, caring, loving, and yet also completely hopeless and dreadfully unlucky. As I said the ending is predictable, although even then it is slightly amiss, with the possibly the only reason for it being that it is a film about the relationship between Jack and Greg, not Pam and Greg (you will have to see it to see what I mean!).

One piece of warning for you! I had dinner with my fiancée's family (to celebrate my future brother-in-law's 21st birthday) the night after I saw this film. With the film fresh in my memory I was reluctant to do anything in case it went horribly wrong and I became persona non grata with my future in-laws!

It is DeNiro who steals this show. While he has a good character to work with he presents it brilliantly, as an over-protective nature is portrayed without ever showing Jack as the bad guy. He is simply excellent as is most of the film. Very well worth seeing (especially if you have had a bad day, as I had before seeing it), with the Water Volleyball and Air Rage scenes being the "don't miss" incidents, while the nicely-placed "Top Gun" lines are a welcome addition for us twenty-somethings who remember the film from our youth!

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