Missed opportunity

Rating: 5/10 (5 June 2005)

When you have a cast which includes three persons who have won Oscars for acting and one who has won a Tony for acting, the result should be much, much better than this. The choice of Streisand and Hoffman as the elder Fockers was inspired, and it is a shame that the script and direction did not exhibit similar inspiration.
The problem, in my opinion, was that the set-up evolved into a La Cage Aux Folles idea: to hide one's parents from one's prospective in-laws. It would have been wonderful to allow Blythe Danner to do something more than merely to tut-tut at Robert De Niro, or to allow De Niro to do something more than make faces, or to let Streisand put De Niro in his place.
The film was amiable, with a few good jokes, some of which went on a bit too long. And if you watch the deleted scenes on DVD, there is one total misfire that you can only be grateful they did not include in the theatrical version (and should not have included on the DVD, it is so awful).