Amusing...somewhat

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2002)

Ben Stiller stars in director Jay Roach's MEET THE PARENTS, a somewhat amusing farce about a male nurse named (yes) Greg Focker, who travels with his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo) to her family home, not only because of Pam's sister's impending nuptials, but also because it will give Greg a chance to meet her parents and ask her father for Pam's hand in marriage. Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner, an onscreen couple you thought you'd never see, are absolutely believable as Pam's folks, especially in their first scene with the younger couple. Unfortunately, this is perhaps the film that has made De Niro into a comedic rather than dramatic actor (THE KING OF COMEDY wasn't meant to be completely amusing), and you'll begin to miss the Bobby of old (TAXI DRIVER, GOODFELLAS, even the action-packed RONIN).
I'll admit that I enjoyed this film, but only in a few scenes. Greg's scene with the female ticket agent on the airplane was memorable, as were the scenes where Jack (De Niro), apparently ex-CIA, hooks Greg up to the lie detector, and where Greg does too much to impress the others during a game of water volleyball.
What I did love about the film were its subtle touches, especially in the way Greg is treated, because it's happened to me--it's happened to a lot of us. Ever say something that causes other people to look at you and go, "What the heck are you talking about?" It's happened to me several times, and it happens to Greg. A lot. That's where the amusement in MEET THE PARENTS lies, and I hope that MEET THE FOCKERS, a sequel due out next year, keeps some of that. 7/10
Side issue: the film is apparently based on an earlier (independent) film by screenwriters Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke. I just hope this film (the 2000 version) wasn't made just to make more $$$ on an older, funnier film. It'd sound too much like a remake that way. Personally, I wouldn't want to see CLERKS remade with hot young stars instead of the New Jersey slackers we grew to love.