Meet the Parents

***Meet the Parents*** is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless man while visiting his girlfriend's parents. Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson also star.

*Meet the Parents* is a remake of a 1992 film of the same name directed by Greg Glienna and produced by Jim Vincent. Glienna—who also played the original film's main protagonist—and Mary Ruth Clarke co-wrote the screenplay. Universal Pictures purchased the rights to Glienna's film with the intent of creating a new version. Jim Herzfeld expanded the original script but development was halted for some time. Jay Roach read the expanded script and expressed his desire to direct the film but Universal declined him. At that time, Steven Spielberg was interested in directing the film while Jim Carrey was interested in playing the lead role. The studio only offered the film to Roach once Spielberg and Carrey left the project.

Released in the United States and Canada on October 6, 2000 and distributed by Universal Studios, the film earned back its initial budget of $55 million in only eleven days. It went on to become one of the highest grossing films of 2000, earning over $160 million in North America and over $330 million worldwide. *Meet the Parents* was well received by film critics and viewers alike, winning several awards and earning additional nominations. Ben Stiller won two comedy awards for his performance and the film was chosen as the Favorite Comedy Motion Picture at the 2001 People's Choice Awards. The success of *Meet the Parents* inspired two film sequels, namely *Meet the Fockers* and *Little Fockers* released in 2004 and 2010 respectively. *Meet the Parents* also inspired a reality television show titled *Meet My Folks* and a situation comedy titled *In-Laws*, both of them debuting on NBC in 2002.

## Plot

Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) is a nurse living in Chicago, who intends to propose to his girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), a schoolteacher. His plan is disrupted when Pam's sister Debbie becomes engaged and he finds out that Debbie's fiance, Dr. Robert "Bob" Banks had asked Pam's father for permission before proposing. Greg and Pam travel to Pam's parents' house in Oyster Bay, Long Island to attend the wedding. Greg hopes to propose to Pam in front of her family after receiving her father's permission, but this plan is put on hold when the airline loses his luggage, including the engagement ring.

When they arrive at the Byrnes' home, Greg meets Pam's father Jack (Robert De Niro), her mother Dina (Blythe Danner) and their beloved cat Mr. Jinx. Jack immediately takes a dislike to Greg and openly criticizes him for his chosen career of nursing and anything else he sees as a sign of weakness. Greg's attempts to impress Jack either go unnoticed or fail: He inadvertently leads Jack to think he does drugs, while mentioning the possible subtle drug references in Puff, the Magic Dragon, recites the lyrics from the song "Day by Day" from the musical "Godspell" as a blessing, and makes up a story about milking a cat. Greg then presents the Byrnes family with a bottle of champagne which he had purchased at a local convenience store. However, upon finding out Pam was previously engaged, the cork pops off and knocks over an urn containing the ashes of Jack's beloved mother and Pam's grandmother, and Jinx subsequently urinates in them. Greg becomes further uncomfortable after receiving an impromptu lie detector test from Jack and later discovers that Jack is actually a retired CIA counterintelligence officer.

Meeting the rest of Pam's family and friends, including Debbie, her fiance, his parents, and Pam's highly successful, both financially and spiritually, ex-fiancee Kevin (Owen Wilson), Greg still feels like an outsider. Things between Greg and Jack go from bad to worse during a game of water volleyball, where Jack becomes irritated with Greg's incompetent playing, and in an attempt to play more seriously, Greg accidentally hits Debbie while spiking the ball, giving her a bloody nose and black eye. After that, because Greg had earlier used a malfunctioning toilet (and telling Jack that Jinx had flushed the toilet, which Jack didn't buy), the Byrnes's yard floods with sewage. The airline arrives with the luggage that Greg lost, but it turns out to not be his, and while Greg is on the phone, attempting to solve this issue, he accidentally causes Jinx to get loose. While chasing Jinx, Greg accidentally starts a fire in the yard, destroying a wedding altar that Kevin had handcarved for Debbie's wedding.

Jack himself conducts a background check on Greg's MCAT scores and finds nothing on anyone named Greg Focker ever taking the MCAT's. Then he inspects Greg's found luggage (which is actually someone else's) containing sexual toys and gimmicks. Jack, at this point is willing to bet Greg is not even a real nurse, but a drug dealer posing as a hospital worker for easy access, per their previous discussion about "Puff the Magic Dragon", Later, the Byrnes family realizes Jinx is missing and Greg, in a last-ditch effort to win Jack over, finds a stray cat who looks exactly like Jinx, except for a white tip on the tail, and he spray paints its tail to match Jinx's tail. While the entire family is out to dinner, Jack gets a voicemail that Jinx is at their neighbor's house. As they're heading home, Greg realizes that Jack knows about Jinx, and desperately tries to beat Jack home to hide the evidence, but ultimately fails. The family returns home to find the stray cat has completely trashed the house. Jack calls Greg out in front of the entire family for his lack of honesty, and demands that he call off his relationship with Pam and leave immediately.

By now, the entire Byrnes family, including Pam, agree with Jack that Greg needs to leave. Desperate to save himself, Greg reveals that he has seen Jack talking to strange characters, and is planning a secret mission after Pam's sister's wedding, thus lying about being retired from the CIA. Jack angrily explains that the secret mission was a surprise honeymoon for the newlywed couple, and Greg realizes that he only dug himself deeper into a hole. Pam and Greg break up, and Greg starts to leave. Just as Greg's leaving an airport employee arrives with Greg's actual missing bag, under the name 'Gaylord Focker' much to the amusement of the Byrnes. Greg goes to the airport but finds himself detained by airport security after refusing to check in his luggage, remembering what happened last time.

Back at the Byrnes' household, Jack still believes that Greg would be an unsuitable husband, as he is completely dishonest and incompetent. Upon receiving retribution from his wife, who claims that Jack never warmed up to Kevin until after he and Pam broke up, and Pam (as well as confirmation that Greg actually aced the MCAT's), Jack realizes that Pam truly loves Greg. Jack rushes to the airport, convinces airport security to release Greg, and demands that he be honest about everything that transpired. Greg admits that he loves Pam, and everything he did before was out of desperation to win Jack's approval. Jack admits that maybe he had been too hard on Greg, and he brings him back to the Byrnes' household.

Greg proposes to Pam. She accepts, and her parents agree that they should now meet Greg's parents. After Debbie's wedding, Jack views footage of Greg recorded by hidden cameras that he had placed strategically around their house.

## Cast

* Robert De Niro as Jack Byrnes
* Ben Stiller as Gaylord "Greg" Focker
* Teri Polo as Pam Byrnes
* Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes
* Nicole DeHuff as Deborah Byrnes
* Jon Abrahams as Denny Byrnes
* Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley
* James Rebhorn as Dr. Larry Banks
* Thomas McCarthy as Dr. Robert "Bob" Banks
* Phyllis George as Linda Banks