A Few Precious Laughs Thanks to the 'Fockers,' Hoffman and Streisand

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2008)

'Meet the Fockers' means meeting Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. That's all you have to know, and that's the best part of the film, of which script is utterly lame, and of which set-pieces are not as funny as they should be. But the Fockers, I mean, the husband and wife played by Hoffman and Streisand are so lovable, silly, and most of all, believable that you can forget all the unnecessary part of the film, and enjoy yourself watching the vintage comic acting from the couple. Greg, no, Gaylord (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) come back as the lovers who are going to marry soon. This time, they have a bigger problem than before, and that is that they have to introduce the uptight father of the future bride, ex-CIA agent Jack to the parents of the Fockers. And the two Fockers house husband Bernie and sex therapist Roz (Hoffman and Streisand) are far from ordinary parents, who can casually talk about the 'first time' of their much, much beloved son at the dinner. And to Greg's dismay, they are truly enjoying the embarrassing conversations. And it is only natural that Jack find them a lot more embarrassing and even rude when ex-hippie Bernie makes fun of CLIA (L stands for 'lack of') right before the proud Jack. The ice never breaks between the two families when they pretend it does, and the awkward relations, which get more and more awkward as the story goes on, are seen in the center of the comedy. Unfortunately however, the script never gels. It has sparks sometimes, but clearly we see misfires oftener. There are several reasons for that ineffectiveness. Ben Stiller and Teri Polo do not look like a couple loving each other, and there are too many familiar kinds of gags involving toilet, dirty words, and a baby. To me, the greatest problem is that all the set-pieces are tired retread of 'Meet the Parents.' Instead of volleyball in the original, you see football. If a cat is not good enough, there is a dog. And I admit Robert DeNiro is good, and I can say he is as good as in the first one, but don't you think that he is doing too many comedies these days? But the couple of Hoffman and Streisand is a different thing, special gift from these veterans. They almost single-handedly save the film from the uninspired mess with their hilarious comic acting. The actors themselves may not be your favorite, but you should forget your liking or disliking for now, because these parents are so charming and credible. Especially Dustin Hoffman does one of his best performances in recent years. Probably the character of Bernie is so close to his own that some seem to say that the way Hoffman keeps on bubbling funny nonsense is exactly the impression we have about him during his interviews, and you can believe their words simply by watching the extraordinary but likable character he plays. Obviously Hoffman is in his element. Despite the weak script and the weaker husband-wife descriptions of Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner, 'Meet the Fockers' is better than I expected. Of course, that does not mean very much when I usually don't expect much from the sequels. But the family of 'The Fockers' of the film's title are genuinely fun to see, and I am ready to revisit their home, even if I didn't find the film itself particularly great.