Best comedy in years

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2000)

I like comedies as much as the next guy, but I think that comedy as a genre tends to produce mediocre films more often than any other genre, and even the best of comedies aren't as likely as other genres to produce a film worth more than one viewing. It could be worse for comedy, though, as I think horror and action produce more outright bad movies than other genres.
Anyway, I think the mediocre tendency in comedy has been even more prevalent then normal in the past few years, as most of the major comedies releases have been, well, average efforts in my opinion, and I'm speaking of films such as: There's Something About Mary, both the Austin Powers movies, and Analyze This. You might notice I haven't included any of the "teen" comedies, but that's because I consider "teen" to be a genre onto itself. And, now that I think about it, "teen" is even worse than horror and action because it produces almost nothing other than terrible films, particularly if teen and horror combine without the word "scream" in the title. Comedy's looking better all the time.
But, alas, I digress. The point of the matter is that, with Meet the Parents, I've finally found a comedy that beats this mediocre trend. And, if you're anal about movie knowledge like I am, you're probably noticed that Meet the Parents includes, in its stars and director, people involved in each of the average films I mention above. In fact, that bit of trivia had made me somewhat wary of seeing this film.
Luckily for me, I crumbled. Meet the Parents is not only funnier that any other strict comedy in years, but it is also smarter. Part of my problem with a lot of comedies these days is the overuse of sight gags and toilet humor. Not that I have a problem with either, but I feel like movies insult my intelligence when they use either too often. Meet the Parents has its share of both, but most of the really funny stuff is verbal or situational. There's even an instance or two of choice satire near the film's end.
What surprised my the most about Meet the Parents, however, is how many of the laughs come from De Niro. He's definitely the straight man, but he's got some good lines. He's also well cast, and he has essentially taken a lot of his more prominent roles and toned them down into an overprotective father. At the same time, he's likeable, and that impresses me. His is the best performance in the movie and also his best in years.
True, Meet the Parents is a little over-the-top, but so what? It's also highly entertaining, and the fact that I would willfully watch it again, knowing the jokes, says a lot for it in my book. 9/10