Predictable waste of talent

Rating: 4/10 (17 February 2006)

If you've ever watched a TV sitcom of the last thirty years or so, you can see just about every punch line for a mile. Robert DeNiro should have made his comedic debut in something original or at least funnier. He has a couple of good lines and has good chemistry with Blythe Danner. Ben Stiller is given pointless and stupid stuff throughout the movie and really makes no connection with Teri Polo, Owen Wilson would go much better with her. The usual drug references and literal potty humor are uninspired, it's as if the writers gathered around some inane sitcom scripts and padded them with this stuff that wouldn't be allowed on TV. A really weak effort, but at least it's better than the sequel, which manages to misuse Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. If you want to see an intelligent, actually funny comedy, watch "Analyse This", "My Cousin Vinny", "Runaway Bride" or "Legally Blonde", better yet the best comedy ever, "Some Like It Hot".