Not entirely successful

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2004)

Unusual but not entirely successful feel-bad comedy. At first glance, "Meet the Parents" seems to be a hybrid of Blake-Edwards-style farce and uninspired mainstream movie comedy (sort of like every movie Steve Martin has made in the past 15 years). But before long we realize it's actually much crueler than that  unlike those essentially safe entertainments, which are always rather boringly humane in their treatment of their characters, this film isn't afraid to get ugly. Its poor protagonist may not be particularly likable (and Ben Stiller's performance doesn't help a lot where that's concerned), but he nevertheless gains our sympathies because of the incessant, unreasonable series of tortures it rains down on him. It parades ugly character after ugly character in front of him, but unlike ridiculous farce figures such as Martin Short's Franck in the "Father of the Bride" series, these people are all too believable, the kinds of smug hypocrites we encounter all too often in life (and that includes Focker's fiancée, actually). That's sort of where the problem comes in - the glitzy Hollywood veneer never really jells with the elements of real pain, and we never particularly want to see Stiller accepted into this family. Worse than that, the film's not consistently funny, though of course it is frequently appalling, and to some that's going to be close enough. 6.5 out of 10.