Poor Ebert

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2005)

In watching Meet the Fockers, I can't help feeling sorry for poor souls like Roger Ebert, who are not in a position to ENJOY the movie in the simple way the rest of us do. (Maybe that's a bad example considering the financial reward Mr. Ebert commands). I went to see Fockers for one and only one reason, TO LAUGH. I watched Finding Neverland and Fockers back to back in two evenings, in that order. In watching Neverland, I couldn't help having my eyes moist, even just a little. In watching Fockers, the tears just rolled, uncontrollably, the way they always do when one is laughing so hard.
Some, actually most, of the "humour" is right down low so if you can't shed your intellectual hide and let your hair down, you're just wasting your money and don't deserve any sympathy. But if you can, you're in for a hell of a time, thanks to Hoffman (good old Dustin, not the equally gifted actor Philip Seymore) and Streisand. De Niro's you-never-know-if-it's-agony-or-ecstasy grimace continues to be deadly effective. Stiller is always a natural for the lovable, more-average-than-average guy next door.
There is also this family thing that hits home every time, because we see ourselves in these relationships: father, mother, son, daughter, in-laws. With the characters, we laugh at ourselves as well as share some of the warm moments we have experienced in our own daily lives.
While most of the funny lines are direct pokes at your reflexes, there are some better ones. My favourite is Streisand's (to De Niro), "So you try to avoid confusing the little kid by strapping an artificial boob to your chest?"