Because of the inherent terror involved in meeting one’s future in-laws, the comic possibilities are endless. Somehow director Jay Roach, who’s behind the Austin Powers flicks, almost blows it in Meet the Parents. With Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro in the leads, it’s a can’t-miss proposition. But a needless reliance on toilet gags almost derails a simple but potent setup.
Stiller stars as Greg Focker (it takes no effort to imagine what the writers come up with for that surname), a male nurse who’s deeply attached to an elementary school teacher named Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo). Greg would like to use the long weekend to pop the question to his beloved. But, Greg’s affections and his sanity are put to the test when he joins her for a trip from Chicago to Upstate New York to meet her parents, Jack (DeNiro) and Dina (Blythe Danner).
The trip begins disastrously when the airlines lose Greg’s bag. If that situation in itself wasn’t bad enough, the bag contained Pam’s two-carat engagement ring. The two of them arrive safely at their destination, and Jack and Dina live in a nicely furnished, two-story house. Still, something seems wrong. Maybe it’s the way that Jack has trained his beloved cat to use the toilet. Another possibility could be that Jack almost violently dislikes people who prefer dogs over cats. The fellow also writes morbid attempts at poetry and has installed an elaborate surveillance system throughout his house. Greg’s discomfort mushrooms to the point that he feels compelled to lie about himself. This is a stupid move because it increases Jack’s suspicions about Greg.
Greg quickly discovers that Jack has strong reasons for distrusting anyone, much less a potential suitor. Jack’s hair trigger temper and constant paranoia arise from spending thirty years as a CIA interrogator. If surviving Jack’s third degree weren’t enough, Greg finds himself enlisted to help out with the wedding for Pam’s sister and enduring the discomfort of hanging out with Pam’s old flame, a chronic overachiever named Kevin (Owen Wilson, from Shanghai Noon).
Directed by:
Jay Roach
Starring:
Ben Stiller
Robert De Niro
Nicole DeHuff
Blythe Danner
Teri Polo
Jon Abrahams
James Rebhorn
Phyllis George
Owen Wilson
Thomas McCarthy
Written by:
Greg Glienna
Mary Ruth Clarke
Review by Dan Lybarger · Nitrate Online
