A few good laughs, mostly due to the good actors; but an uneven effort at times

Rating: 7/10 (7 November 2000)

Well, this movie should be watched with disbelief fully suspended, since it is essentially a farce mixed with a heavy dose of slapstick. It was pretty stupid and unoriginal at times, and often elicited groans from me (more stupid pet tricks.) But it was also delightful and funny at times, mostly in the smaller moments that were a little less over the top, but also in some of the setup and "payoff" in some of the writing. For instance, I thought the outcome of the pool volleyball game was funny and kind of shocking at the same time -- but in a very good way. ;)
Most of what made the film mildly entertaining for me was simply the performances by Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro. Neither role was that much of a stretch for either of them, as they both were firmly planted in self-parody territory, doing what we've seen them do many times before. Still, even though Stiller and DeNiro are doing little more than selling their "dog and pony act," they are really good at it, and I still enjoyed what they did most of the time anyway.
All in all, if you go in with the right attitude (not expecting too much), you'll surely get a few good laughs before you get back in the car and go home. But it probably won't "stick to your ribs" like the best comedies do.
I give it a 7/10.