The 's' at the end of the title is useless ...

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2014)

Just when I thought that "fat, drunk and stupid" wasn't the way to "go through life", cinema provided me the perfect example of a man doomed for failure. His name? Gaylord Focker. His profession? Male nurse. How does he look? Slightly below average, but a Tom Cruise, he ain't, if you except some pretty blue eyes no really, he looks like that poor schmuck who thought he had a chance with Cameron Diaz in "There's Something About Mary"  see?
What else from that glorious portrait? Well, he's in love with Pam (Teri Polo), a pretty blonde from a Conservative WASP family, and being Jewish wouldn't help either. Except that she loves him, she would probably say 'yes' if he manages to propose her, granted Pam's sister doesn't steal her thunder and the ring doesn't get lost with the luggage in the airport  yes, I forgot to mention Greg (that's how they call him) is also unlucky but that was quite easy to find out. Anyway, Pam loves him and her sister's wedding seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce Greg. Except that opportunity doesn't rhyme with formality, there has to be a catch otherwise, the film wouldn't be one of the funniest of the 2000's.
The catch is a hard-nosed man in his early sixties, who loves his wife Dina (Blythe Danner), his two daughters and Jinx, his Siamese cat. He's over-protective and over-suspicious, he's a Conservative Christian, and much more than this, he's an ex-CIA Agent. His name is Jack Byrnes and he's played by Bobby De Niro, who else could? "Meet the Parents" all relies on the antagonism between Greg and Jack and it follows a simple yet effective pattern: whatever Greg does, he'll be ridiculous. No matter how hard he'll try to make himself within the family circle, Jack's beloved concept, he'll end up displeasing him. It feels like a one-note approach to the subject, but for some miraculous reason, it never feels redundant and here's why.
The credit goes to Jay Roach, the director, each scene prepares us to a funny pay-off. Secondly, there's not one single 'funny' character, they're all, within their own state of mind, normal and well-meaning persons. One might argue that a CIA agent who trained his cat to use the toilet might be a little twisted, or a name like Gaylord Focker is too funny not to belong to a goof-ball, but fact is, there's no clown in the film, the two opposite leads are straight men with clearly defined personalities. The average schmuck who wants to propose the blonde daughter and must get the approval of the father, and the conservative father who believes his baby girl deserves the best.
The comedic situations result in all the interactions between Greg and Jack, and their one-sided attempts to get along. There is a family dinner scene that crystallizes whatever is funny in the film, Greg tries to make a joke, he ends up insulting Greg's mother, he start talking about a random subject such as 'milking' cat, making the gesture as if we didn't get it, and arguing that you can milk anything with nipples to which Jack's "I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?" is the perfect comeback and the film's most memorable line. There's also a jar containing Jack's mother ashes which makes us expect the worst but the point is to laugh, not at Greg, but at his desperate attempts to accommodate with his soon-to-be family-in-law. The film is never mean-spirited, well, maybe a little but, but we never laugh in a mean-spirited way I think so
I believe one of the reasons the film succeeds is because the recurring theme is being an outsider, which is a situation most viewers can relate to. And meeting the parents of your beloved one is probably one of the nightmares everyone must get through once in the life, the issue is undermined by Greg's differences, which are never mocked, he's proud of his job, which is all to his honor. He's Jewish but accepts to say the blessing, although it doesn't really turn out as we'd expect. The point is that there are more cultural gaps in America than anyone would believe, and at a time, where 'mixed' marriages are so common, it's also something many can relate to. And God, what can be worst than a lie detector test from your father in law?
The film introduces Pam's sister and her future husband, a doctor (a real one, from Jack's perspective), the ideal man for his daughter, there's also Owen Wilson as a priest and carpenter who lived a passionate romance with Pam, 'only physical' (was that supposed to comfort him?) and Jack's son who'd be responsible for a minor drugs' subplot, not the best part of the film. Indeed, it loses its pacing at some point where Greg becomes the public enemy number one, Greg, but then it takes us to a hilarious airplane climax where Greg finally goes berserk and vent his anger out on flight attendants and a last and final confrontation with Jack.
Ben Stiller has already proved his value as a character –actor for poor and well-meaning schmucks, he reprises his role from "There's Something About Mary" but gives it an even deeper feeling. De Niro has no comparable talent to make fun of his own intimidating presence and knows how to parody his own gangster mimics for grabbing a few laughs. He was rightfully nominated for the Golden Globe. Blythe Danner also provides a sweet touch as the understanding mother who asks Jack to "go easy on Greg", but fate is that no matter what can go wrong, it all go wrong. Murphy's law indeed.
And if one thing, the film proves right the idea that marrying someone, no matter what we want, is also marrying the family.