Stiller's Funny As I Thought (Meet the Parents (DVD))

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Meet the Parents (DVD)
Date:	30/06/02 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Warm, Very Funny, Great Cast

Disadvantages: A mushy ending but this is American!

Sometimes you look at a movie trailer and think..hmmm...that looks a bit average. That’s how I felt about Meet The Parents but I was pleasantly surprised. Directed by Jay Roach (responsible for the Austin Powers shenanigans) and starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, this film is a charming, funny slap-stick affair reflecting on the sometimes terse encounters between perspective in-laws and their future son-in-law (which some of us can relate to only too well!).
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Running time 108 minutes

Rated 12

Cast:

Robert De Niro .... Jack Byrnes
Ben Stiller .... Gaylord 'Greg' Focker
Teri Polo .... Pam Byrnes
Blythe Danner .... Dina Byrnes
Nicole DeHuff .... Deborah Byrnes
Jon Abrahams .... Denny Byrnes
Thomas McCarthy (I) .... Bob Banks
Phyllis George .... Linda Banks
James Rebhorn .... Dr. Larry Banks
Owen Wilson .... Kevin Rawley

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The story is a simplicity itself. Ben Stiller plays Greg Focker who is madly in love with Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) and is seeking approval from her parents. Greg packs a suitable ring in his case ready to propose to Pam and off they toddle for a weekend in the country. However, Greg’s bags go missing in transit providing the rationale for the most of the slapstick in the movie.

De Niro plays the over protective father and with Pam’s sister, Debbie, about to get married his overbearing sensibilities are on a particularly high level of alert when his guests arrive for the weekend. Under the pretence of being a flower seller, it turns out that De Niro is actually a retired CIA agent providing a whole armoury of jokes revolving around interrogation.

Greg’s problems mount as soon as he walks through the front door. After all, he has none of his own clothes and his audience has an undercurrent of hostility despite their se
emingly friendly intentions.

Funniest scenes:

 Whilst reading an emotional poem about his dead mother, Jack Byrnes (De Niro) watches in amazement as Greg uncorks a bottle of bubbly only for the ensuing projectile to knock off his dead mother’s ashes onto the rug in front of the fire. Funnier still is the following few seconds when Jinks the cat strolls over to the mess and...well...I’ll leave the rest to your imagination but we were in stitches.

 Jinks the cat goes missing so in an effort to prove his worthiness, Greg finds a doppelganger and spray paints the cat’s tail to make it look like Jinks. He passes the cat off successfully but with comic consequences later on.

 One of the couple’s friends makes a lovely wooden arch for them to get married under. In another sequence involving the comedic foil of Jink’s the cat, Greg sets in motion a slap stick sequence that leads to a rather unfortunate demise for the wedding gift.

 It transpires that Greg’s real name is Gaylord. Cue sniggering swipes at his name – Gay Focker.

There were so many others that it would spoil the film listing them!

This film works for a number of different reasons. Firstly, it’s just very funny. The humour in the Austin Powers films comes to life here with the same director. Visual gags abound along with a very witty script (writing credits to Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke). The film just oozes charm allowing the audience to relate easily to the main character’s predicament. OK, the endings predictable enough but then you probably wouldn’t want it any other way after watching the story unfold.

Greg’s developing relationship with the family maps nicely the acceptance of any outsider into a circle of trust (referred to in the film several times). On his first morning, Greg is left to lie in late only to discover when he wander
s down to breakfast that the whole family including the folks about to get married are sitting around the table making plans. Wearing his girlfriend’s night-dress (remember his bags have gone missing), he is suitably embarrassed, made worse by the lack of interest at anything he says from the family. He even discloses his profession as a nurse only to be met initially by hilarity followed by disdain despite the noblest of reasons for him taking up this trade.

The acting is well suited to the genre. De Niro surprised me with his comic timing albeit I could never get totally comfortable with him in such a straight man v fool scenario. His role is given credence with the CIA background, which also provides the rationale for his outlook and behaviour. Cue some scenes reminiscent of "Uncle Buck" as De Niro hooks Greg up to a lie detector asking him questions that would make most folks blush ("How you ever watched pornography?).

Teri Polo plays the adoring girlfriend well enough and does particularly well later in the film when there is a change of mood followed by a questioning of motives and loyalties. Blythe Danner faithfully recreates the ditzy wife with an air of servility until her pivotal moment arrives towards the conclusion.

I think Ben Stiller is a real comic talent. I haven’t seen Zoolander (thankfully by all accounts) but thought when I saw him in "There’s Something About Mary" that this guy had talent. He plays the suffering boyfriend wonderfully with a gamut of endearing facial expressions. The humour is, both verbal and physical, is delivered to perfection as the audience totally takes him to heart. The ultimate discovery of such an unfortunate name just makes you realise that almost any hurdle can be overcome if you are true to yourself and your beliefs. In Greg’s (Gaylord’s) case it’s the fact that he loves Pam and believes in what he does.

The inclusion of Ji
nks the cat is a masterstroke. He steals so many scenes with the scriptwriters having free reign with the compromising positions they put Jinks into, often framing Greg as the offender when it’s Jinks that is the miscreant.

There are a number of sub-plots revolving around Greg's relationship with Jack Byrnes' pot smoking, party animal of a son and the winning over of the atypical all-American family which is something of a roller coaster at the best of times. The scripwriters' understanding of group dynamics adds to a thoughtful script within the mayhem of the comedy.

The finale is nicely crafted from the realisation that, despite his observation that Pam’s ex was the kind of son-in-law he was looking for, his wife (Blythe Danner) points out that he never took to Kevin either until after the relationship had finished. I suppose you’d come to expect a schmaltzy conclusion but it has paved the way for a sequel!

This is a warm, funny, clever movie and thoroughly recommended. It endeared itself to me and I felt myself charmed by its message and moved by its ability to exploit comedy in such a number of different ways. Go watch it!!

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday

Marandina

Meet The Parents is currently showing on NTL FrontRow and Sky Box Office.

The DVD is available from Amazon at £18.99:

Technical Information
Release Information:
Studio: Dreamworks Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 22 October, 2001
Run Time: 103 minutes
Edition Details:
• Region 2 encoding (Europe, Middle East & Japan only)
• PAL, Closed-captioned
• ASIN: B00005MFNW
• Catalogue Number: 6882152

The video retails on Amazon at £14.06

Summary: