Amusing, watchable, a few laugh-out-loud moments, and Hoffman and Streisand are a humorous addition -- but overall not as good as the original

Rating: 6/10 (25 April 2005)

"Meet the Fockers" had a lot of potential but I think its downfall is that it never really goes anywhere. Clocking in at an hour and fifty-five minutes, it is not only longer than its predecessor, but repeats itself too often. In typical Jay Roach style, the director once again basically remakes his original film (also see the first "Austin Powers" sequel) through eerily similar scenes -- for example the football game in "Fockers" is a clear re-do of the water volleyball game in "Parents," ending yet again with someone being injured -- but the film still manages to create just enough new gags to make it worthwhile. This is a generally amiable picture worthy of a night's entertainment. It is not, however, anywhere near as memorable as the first film -- which not only surprised me, but to this day lingers in my memory. (I still haven't forgotten the dinner sequence with the cat and the mother's ashes. That was brief comedic genius.) "Meet the Fockers" is just a bit too obvious. It's a sequel made for money. Its cast is obviously having a great time -- Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand are chewing up the scenery -- but it's far from a respectable and intelligent sequel. (Then again, who expected it to be?) Bottom line is: A fun movie, just not great.
My biggest disappointment in "Fockers" is the transformation of De Niro's character, Jack Byrnes. In the original, Jack was a very strict disciplinarian, ex-CIA man. In "Fockers" De Niro seems to turn his original portrayal into a parody of itself -- Jack was believable in the original, to some degree, and here he is just a bit too broad to find convincing. Although the opening Democrat/Republican comparison between Hoffman's character Bernie (liberal Jewish) and Jack (uptight conservative) is pretty amusing, especially nowadays, it goes on a bit too long afterwards. At an hour and a half, we don't need another reminder than Hoffman is a liberal and De Niro's character is not. During this, Jack generally acts like a real jerk, and not only devolves past what he was in the first film, but becomes WORSE - he once again disbelieves Greg (Ben Stiller), and it's just sort of tiring because we've already been through this stuff in the first film.
Also, perhaps it is just me, but I found De Niro a great deal less likable than he was in the first film. In that, there was a certain element of understanding attached to his actions -- in "Fockers" he really does just come across as a mean, sarcastic guy and although De Niro is still very funny, he's nowhere near as funny as he was in "Parents," which built its laughs on absurdity in the face of realism, and not vice versa.
"Fockers" is a pleasant sequel that delivers enough entertainment for a Friday or Saturday night viewing. Hoffman in particular is an excellent addition to the series and not only has fun in his role, but delivers the most laughs. And his chemistry with De Niro is, once again, very funny. (Even more so than "Wag the Dog.") But in the end, I thought to myself, "Haven't I seen something like this already?" And I realized a "Meet the Little Focker" better pull something new out of its hat or it's going to become a pretty tiresome ordeal. They should stop now, or come up with some new jokes -- the culture clash jokes can only remain funny so long....
Overall rating: 3/5