Could Be The Perfect Comedy

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2000)

How do you make a good first impression on and win over your prospective father-in-law on the very weekend you intend to ask for his first-born daughter's hand in marriage? A tricky, touchy, very delicate and serious situation that must be faced and addressed by a young man in `Meet The Parents,' a hilarious comedy directed by Jay Roach and starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. Greg (Stiller) is in love; he knows Pam (Teri Polo) is the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and is ready to propose. But certain circumstances clue him in to the fact that he should meet her parents first, approach her father, Jack (De Niro), and make the formal request, thereby extending him the respect he has come to understand Jack demands. Plans are made, and the weekend begins with the flight from Chicago to New York. And when a slight problem arises even before they board their plane, Greg should have seen it as an omen, because after that, absolutely nothing seems to go as planned. He finds Pam's mom, Dina (Blythe Danner), fairly accessible, but Jack turns out to be quite the formidable opponent, and from the minute they meet it becomes one long dance and spar of witticisms and revelations that make this one weekend Greg (and the audience) will never forget.	What makes this movie so funny (and this IS one funny movie) is that the humor is character driven, situational and all very real; the laughs (and there are plenty) are all earned and are derived from inherently comical events and circumstances. The ongoing banter between Greg and Jack is clever, the dialogue is superb and delivered with such sly and subtle shadings that it rings true at every turn. And De Niro and Stiller play off of one another so perfectly and with such impeccable timing that it's like watching art come to life. Stiller is a master at playing comedy dead-pan straight, and De Niro proves to be his equal here. They never go after cheap laughs, and what little broad humor Roach employs evolves directly from the story and is never gratuitous or overdone; Roach and his cast let it all flow naturally and play it with a seriousness that makes it all the more hilarious. You can literally feel Greg's pain and discomfort as he tries in vain to stand tall and impress this intimidating figure of a man he hopes will soon be his own father-in-law. And De Niro makes Jack everything a suitor dreads in a prospective in-law; he doesn't merely scratch the surface of this character, but goes deep to make him a multi-layered personality, enigmatic and hard to read. You know instinctively that there's more to this guy than meets the eye, and given the fact that nobody is good enough in his eyes for his little girl, he is a nightmare waiting for any and all `Gregs' that may come a-calling.	Polo is charming as Pam; she's charismatic, has great screen presence and a winning personality that makes her character likable and totally believable. In a supporting role, Owen Wilson gives a stand-out performance as Pam's ex-boyfriend, Kevin; he so wryly underplays him, and what he does contrasts so well with what De Niro and Stiller are doing that it makes him one of the most memorable characters in the film. Rounding out the excellent supporting cast are Nicole DeHuff (Debbie), Jon Abrahams (Denny), James Rebhorn (Larry) and Phyllis George (Linda). With `Meet The Parents,' Roach leaves no doubt as to what he can do with a comedy; this film is filled with truly funny, memorable scenes and has an endless number of quotable lines, the best of which belongs to Jack (spoken to Greg ): `If I find that you are trying to corrupt my first born child, I will bring you down, baby, I will bring you down to Chinatown' In the final analysis, it's all a lot of fun, and there are many things here with which many viewers will readily identify. This movie, in fact, may well be the perfect comedy; certainly it is nothing less than a modern-day classic that you do not want to miss. I rate this one 10/10.