It's warm and humorous and avoids being mean-spirited, which alone makes it special.
Meet the Parents (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:116
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...
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.
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
Reviews for Meet the Parents
An entertaining comic nightmare, but like most bad dreams, it disappears once the lights come up.
Jay Roach, best known for the broad farce of the Austin Powers films, shows an unexpected flair for directing character comedy.
If you can just accept the fact that real human behavior has been thrown out the window like the baby in Andy Warhol's Bad, then you'll have a really good time watching Stiller and De Niro square off.
I didn't laugh so often as many of the people sitting around me at Meet the Parents, but I laughed enough to think: Yep, not bad.
Don't go to this movie if you've recently had hernia surgery, because the expression 'bust a gut laughing' might go beyond metaphor in your case.
Roach ... knows to play to the movie's twin strengths: Stiller and De Niro.
High concept that aims for the middle and meets its mark emphatically and satisfyingly.
Follows a rather predictable, well-worn path, but the sheer joy of performing on the actors' parts sells the film as a whole.
Has all the elements for a memorable farce and succeeds more often than not.
None of the jokes are forced, which makes Meet the Parents a singular achievement.
Within its formulaic confines, the humor works uncommonly well from time to time.
It's the prom night scene from There's Something About Mary stretched out over an entire movie - just not as funny.
Latest News for Meet the Parents
February 20, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Meet the Little Fockers
This week's movies are a surprising batch of mostly original concepts (no remakes and just one sequel), and star-studded to boot, including new movies for Ben Stiller, Tom... More...
November 18, 2008:
More Fockers for Stiller? ![]()
According to Roger Friedman at Fox News, the wheels are turning on another "Meet the Parents" sequel. More...
May 21, 2008:
More Austin Powers, Meet the Parents Sequels? ![]()
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...
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