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Movies / On DVD / Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents

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Meet the Parents (2000)

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Reviews Counted: 137

Fresh: 115

Rotten:22

Average Rating: 6.9/10

Consensus: This upbeat comedy is hilarious and, at the same time, believable and something people can relate to.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is head over heels in love with his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), and is ready to pop the big question. When his attempt to propose is thwarted by a phone call with the news that Pam's younger sister is getting married,... Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is head over heels in love with his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), and is ready to pop the big question. When his attempt to propose is thwarted by a phone call with the news that Pam's younger sister is getting married, Greg realizes that the key to Pam's hand in marriage lies with her formidable father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro).

A trip to New York for her sister's wedding seems just the right occasion for Greg to ask Pam to be his wife. But everything that could possibly go wrong, does.

Upon his arrival at the family's picturesque, Norman Rockwell-like home, Greg is greeted by what appears to be the picture-perfect family: a loving husband and wife with a doting son and two daughters and a beloved cat. But for a guy who usually resorts to dry wit in stressful situations, Greg is suddenly shooting blanks with Jack, a retired horticulturist…and rather imposing figure. No one is good enough for Jack's first-born daughter, and the fact that Greg is a cat-hating male nurse with a vulgar-sounding last name is not helping things at all.

While Greg bends over backwards to try and make a good impression, his weekend begins with lost luggage at the airport and turns into a hilarious series of one disaster after another. [More]

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, James Rebhorn, Owen Wilson, Thomas McCarthy, Jon Abrahams, Phyllis George, Nicole DeHuff

Director: Jay Roach

Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriter: Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Producer: Nancy Tenenbaum, Jane Rosenthal, Jay Roach
Composer: Randy Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Meet the Parents

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

Packed with cringe-worthy moments from beginning to end, Jay Roach's comedy is for anyone who has ever endured a weekend in the company of potential in-laws.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/15/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Astutely observed, subtly played and consistently hilarious...

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
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This is, unquestionably, the best comedy currently on release. Highly recommended.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

One of those cruel-yet-very-funny crowd pleasers.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

A five star hoot.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/16/01
Neil Smith
BBC
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A brilliant comedy in which we laugh that we do not cry -- although we do wince, as every expectation the main character has of things turning out okay crumbles and his face gets ever the redder.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
02/07/01
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic
Ratings Image

With current comedy obsessed with oh-so-clever ironic gestures and tricksy pastiche, Meet the Parents' dedication to consistent, straightforward belly laughs is totally refreshing.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Alas, poor Focker. He can't help himself. And we can't help ourselves from falling about, equally helpless, at this superbly antic movie.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/15/08
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
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Ratings Image

Owes about 55 percent of its charm to De Niro, who can be hilarious just sitting there.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/11/08
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Director Jay Roach of the Austin Powers films keeps the pace brisk, and the script by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg ably piles the pratfalls ludicrously high.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image

Stiller portrays a human accident better than anyone and he definitely knows how to extort laughs and sympathy from his audience

Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
09/27/06
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com
Ratings Image

Contains enough belly-laughs and sly jokes to become one of the bigger crowd-pleasers of the fall.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/24/06
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image

What saves the movie from remaining an exercise in self-parody for all involved is director Roach's feel for the material.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Never before have two such skilled actors been so monstrously squandered in a movie so replete with failed gags and pathetic gaffes.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Susannah Breslin
Film Threat
Ratings Image

An entertaining little outing, but not something that will stay with me.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Ratings Image

The best American comedy of 2000. It has wit, slapstick and romance -- as well as an improbable comedy team in Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
01/03/05
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
Ratings Image

Does the usual Hollywood bit of setting up the gags way in advance so that even a coma patient can spot them.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
10/24/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

As far as one-joke movies go, this one has its guffaws.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image

Guaranteed to put you off suggested Sunday outings for life.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
03/26/03
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Ratings Image

This film is almost too real to be funny. It is one uncomfortable moment after another — and that is what Stiller does best, but director Roach would have done well to tone it down a bit.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for Meet the Parents

May 21, 2008: More Austin Powers, Meet the Parents Sequels? Opens in new window
According to producer/director Jay Roach, we may yet see more sequels in the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents franchises. More...

February 26, 2007: Yep, "Little Fockers"
Isn't it hilarious how "Fockers" sounds so much like a rrrrreally dirty word? So funny, in fact, that the gag is about to inspire its second film! Expect the whole... More...

February 23, 2007: The Weekly Ketchup: A "Simpsons Movie" Trailer, "Pirates 3" and "Dark Knight" Tidbits, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, more trailers, spoilers and other tidbits, for "The Simpsons Movie," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," and "The Dark... More...

February 01, 2007: Teri Polo is Expecting a "Little Focker"
Don't even pretend to be surprised when I tell you that a movie called "Meet the Little Focker" is on its way. Don't even try it. More...

See More Topics...

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