for any groom on the verge of proposing marriage to his girlfriend , there are certain rules that he needs to follow . 
firstly , fill her life with happiness and romance during the courtship . 
secondly , buy her a beautiful ring that glitters as brightly as her eyes . 
thirdly , find the perfect moment and location to propose . 
finally , the groom-wannabe should probably get her parent's blessing . 
of these four , the last one can be a nightmare . 
meeting parents is a rite of passage , fraught with unexpected questions , bouts of nervousness , the reality of being disliked , and the inability to make a positive impression . 
if you're lucky , things will go smoothly . 
but , if you're greg focker ( ben stiller ) , everything will go wrong . 
and with a name like that , how could it not ? 
when greg first meets his fianc ? e's father , jack byrnes ( the grimacing robert deniro ) , greg immediately feels overwhelmed and is put on the defensive . 
when he tells jack that he's a male nurse , the incorrigible dad shoots back , " not many men in your profession , huh , greg ? " 
it's definitely not a good start . 
but greg is determined to win him over , and it's this desire that fuels the movie . 
he first takes small steps such as agreeing to say grace before dinner . 
it doesn't matter that he's jewish . 
if daddy byrnes asks him to say grace , then that's what he's going to gamely do . 
 " oh god . . . you're 
such a good god " , he moons . 
his discomfort at trying to force out a simple prayer will make you chuckle , but when jack gives him the " deniro squint " ( that familiar , unsettling gaze that gives deniro that aura of invincibility ) , it's pretty hard not to grin . 
things get progressively worse for greg . 
and that's too bad because he's a genuinely likable guy with a romantic heart . 
eventually , he begins to try so hard that he starts to mess everything up , committing a host of gaffes that embarrass , humiliate or injure other people . 
it's a never-ending ordeal of missteps , miscues , and mistakes . 
he buys some champagne , but uncorking the bottle leads to disastrous circumstances . 
he tries to find jack's missing cat . 
but his method of solving the problem leads only to more trouble . 
and there are several other episodes , each one trumping the next in outrageousness . 
the more our well-meaning beau screwed up , the more the audience groaned in sympathy . 
we liked greg . 
and , we liked this movie . 
 " meet the parents " is a farcical comedy that certainly has its moments . 
just sit back and watch greg get into trouble . 
no matter what the situation , whether its playing a harmless game of water volleyball or sneaking a smoke on the roof of the house , things will horribly go wrong . 
we laugh at greg's expense , but love often makes a person do dumb things , and ben stiller has the knack of playing the romantic fool . 
deniro is also affable , tough on the outside yet sentimental on the inside . 
their tug-of-war is often funny , the slapstick is elaborate , and there are several topical throwaway gags ( mostly targeted at the airline industry ) to make this film an amusing yet smart lampoon about future in-laws from hell .