Neither brilliant nor timeless, but still really funny and an endless series of mishaps

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2012)

Meet the Parents (2000)
A clash of family cultures. Ben Stiller plays a really nice guy, really normal nice guy who is about to meet the family of his fiancée (played by Teri Polo). And this family is plain old weird, especially with Robert Deniro playing an ex-CIA dad with a lot of house rules.
You might not have heard of the Fockers movies ("Meet he Fockers") but this is the first of them, and the best (even though it's fun to seen Dustin Hoffman show up in the second one). Already this is star-studded. Next to Deniro is Blythe Danner as the mom, and eventually Owen Wilson shows up.
What do you get? A romantic comedy which ends up being a series of set up gags and one-liners. It's funny, maybe even hilarious if you're in the mood. And it is what it is, pure silly entertainment. It worked for me only so far. I think I was at first surprised at how subtle Stiller's acting was. But eventually it becomes one absurdity after another.
Which is the nature of these kinds of comedies. If you like the cast, go for it!