On par with the first even with a few misses

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2005)

Meet the Fockers is the sequel to the hit Meet the Parents (2000). In this film Gaylord (Greg) Focker, played by Ben Stiller, and Pam Byrnes, played by Terri Polo, worry about the first meeting of their parents before their planned marriage.
Of course stuff hits the fan as uptight Jack Byrnes, played by Robert De Niro, meets Bernie Focker, played by Dustin Hoffman, and Roz Focker, played by Barbara Streisand.
The Fockers are elder hippy types (free love and self esteem) who utterly love their Greg. Jack hates it. He is about being a winner on a winning team.
Greg isn't happy either. His parents are themselves and they embarrass him constantly.
This is a funny movie with more laughs than the first. Of course they mine the gutter for some laughs but the more mature humor is excellent.
I went to see the movie because of Stiller. I find him funny as the nervous uptight guy who tries so hard to do the right thing then sees it blow up in his face. He is a lovable loser. However in Meet the Fockers, Greg seems normal and on occasion seems to fade in the background when Hoffman and Streisand are on the screen. I was a bit disappointed with Greg this go around.
Robert De Niro did another good job as Jack. I was expecting him to do his mafia stuff at several points. That would have been extra funny.
I was surprised with Hoffman and Streisand. Dustin is plain loopy through most of the film and he is a hoot to watch. Some other actors have said that is how he is off screen. I would love to hang out with him.
Barbara Streisand just shines in her role as Roz. It reminded me of the comedies she did in the 70's like "For Pete's Sake" and "Main Event".
While the movie was funny and fun to watch there were some issues I had with it.
I did like the moment where Jack calls Greg out on a lie he told in the first movie. For those of us who saw the first one, that was a good laugh. Where the aside to the first film missed the mark was when Greg and Pam run into the flight attendant that had Greg arrested in the first movie. Greg sort of acted like he knew her but the writers missed a great chance at a joke there. It have been that Stiller underplayed the meeting.
The character of Jack Jr. - Jack's toddler grandson just wasn't needed. There was a bit where Greg is watching the tike and the trouble that comes from that but overall they should have not had the baby.
The subplot with Greg's childhood Nanny was a bit on the tasteless side and didn't help the film. The speech that Greg makes at the party was painful to watch - the humor was much too dark on that one.
Except for those issues I kind of hope they do a 3rd film.