I haven't laughed this hard at the movies in a long time

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2000)

Hollywood should make more movies like this. Movies that don't count on toilet humor, or a group of unfunny, try to be hip people, talking about unfunny, try to be hip, topics that just aren't funny or hip to get a laugh. They should relies on smart, funny writing, and a great cast that seems to enjoy the material they are given. The plot is simple, Ben Stiller's character is trying to impress his girlfriend's father enough to give him permission to marry her. Robert De Niro plays the father from hell who grills Stiller every chance he gets. Every lie, ever statement, every action is under De Niro's scrutiny, and believe me, Stiller does more than enough to alienate himself from the father. It starts out badly and gets worst as the movie progresses. This is Stiller's best work since Something about Mary. He plays basically the same type of persona, but lets face it, it's a funny persona. The nice guy who is just caught up in events that start out innocently , but quickly spiral out of his control, and every attempt to right things just brings up more problems. I also think this is De Niro's best comic performance since Analyze This. A simple sneer at the rambling prayer Stiller gives at the diner table brought a huge laugh from the audience I saw the movie with. So many funny lines, so many funny moments, I could never list them all. See this movie and you'll see, this is the best comedy to come along in years.