No pressure. on you in this amicable flick

Rating: Null/10 (7 July 2002)

In this movie Ben Still plays the childish named Greg Focker. Focker is dating one Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo). Pam is off to her brother's wedding and invites Greg along - giving a chance for Greg to meet the parents (ohh. like the title). Unfortunately for him he never expected the paranoid father, Jack (Robert de Niro) and it quickly becomes clear that meeting the demands and expectations of this parent is not going to be very easy..
I've always found Ben Stiller enjoyable to watch. He has a decent sense of balancing both elements of comedy and drama, generally with decent delivery. There's no exception here and his character Greg, while somewhat similar to other roles, is a nice guy whom you can't help but like. Robert de Niro, as the paranoid parent, shows a great talent for comedic timing that he first evidenced in `Analyze This'. He's able to put a touch of both menace and heart into the role and the chemistry between him and Stiller is quite strong.
Thankfully the comedy is never sacrificed to the big star's prowess. The humour may have some farcical slapstick moments, but generally the set-up is credible enough (and at the expense of Greg) that it makes you smile, rather than wince. There's a great desperation by Greg that wins laughter and heart.
Overall this is a decent comedy. It's script is sharper than most, and the performances that bit better. There's good characterisation with people you wish to succeed. There's enough here to make me see the forthcoming sequel and, with that, the team here have done their job. Try it out. 6.9/10.