Ben Stiller's Best

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2018)

Meet the Parents plays off every man or woman's age old fear: will my significant other's family approve of me? In male nurse Gaylord "Greg" Focker's (Ben Stiller) unusual case, he has to gain the blessing of his girlfriend's ex-CIA father (Robert Deniro). To our delight and Greg's misery, a great blunder of events continually push him as far from acceptance as possible. This leaves Greg up creek without a paddle and forces him to realize that he cannot control other people's perception of him.
The film is among the best comedies of the early 2000's. The story's pace alone sets the film apart from other comedies. There is never a dull moment or loss of speed. Meet the Parents is smart and engaging. The audience truly feels present in each of the hilarious scenarios. We imagine or remember a time we were in Greg's shoes. Critics often associate Ben Stiller with "trash comedies" that favor slapstick and gross humor over intelligent humor. Yet, Robert DeNiro's presence guides the movie along and helps qualify it as the best of its class.
Ben Stiller's apparent cheap quality beautifully contrasts DeNiro's Oscar winning visage. The movie effectively keeps from insulting the viewer while also reaching a wide demographic. There is nearly nothing wrong with the story. If anything, Meet the Parents should have stayed even truer to high brow humor and replaced scenes like the "septic overflow" with more meaningful and impactful moments.