Meet the Parents

PG-13

10/6/20001h 48m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ First comes love. Then comes the interrogation. ~

Overview:

Greg Focker is ready to marry his girlfriend, Pam, but before he pops the question, he must win over her formidable father, humorless former CIA agent Jack Byrnes, at the wedding of Pam's sister. As Greg bends over backward to make a good impression, his visit to the Byrnes home turns into a hilarious series of disasters, and everything that can go wrong does, all under Jack's critical, hawklike gaze.

Director:

Jay Roach

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$55,000,000.00

Revenue:

$330,444,045.00

Key words:

daughter
central intelligence agency (cia)
airplane
airport
nurse
cat
orderly
father-in-law
epistaxis
lost baggage
urn
pavilion
volleyball
hospital
wedding
amused

Cast

Ben Stiller

~ as ~

Greg Focker

Robert De Niro

~ as ~

Jack Byrnes

Teri Polo

~ as ~

Pam Byrnes

Blythe Danner

~ as ~

Dina Byrnes

Nicole DeHuff

~ as ~

Debbie Byrnes

Jon Abrahams

~ as ~

Denny Byrnes

Owen Wilson

~ as ~

Kevin Rawley

James Rebhorn

~ as ~

Dr. Larry Banks

Tom McCarthy

~ as ~

Dr. Bob Banks

Phyllis George

~ as ~

Linda Banks

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

Wuchak
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
A serious beau becomes a master of disaster when he meets his girlfriend's parents

A male nurse from Chicago (Ben Stiller) wants to pop the question to his girlfriend (Teri Polo), but first has to visit Long Island and meet the parents (Robert De Niro & Blythe Danner).

“Meet the Parents” (2001) is a good romantic comedy with Stiller effective as the every-man in a challenging mundane situation that most guys can relate to. The first half involves droll humor as Greg awkwardly meets his potential parents-in-law and suspects that the father doesn’t like him. Yet this is just a set-up for the wild mishaps of the second half as Murphy’s Law goes into effect.

Teri looks great while Nicole DeHuff is on hand as the sister. Elsewhere, an iconic actor of the period shows up in the second half, but I don’t want to give it away as it’s a welcome surprise (it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out seeing as how this is a Ben Stiller comedy).

The sequel “Meet the Fockers” came out four years later and it’s lousy by comparison with distasteful non-humor consisting mostly of juvenile jokes about sex from senior citizens. It was an embarrassment to the iconic actors.

The movie runs 1 hour, 48 minutes, and was shot mostly on Long Island at Old Brookville and nearby Oyster Bay.

GRADE: B+
CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
6
The time has come for "Greg" (Ben Stiller) to meet the parents of his girlfriend "Pam" (Teri Polo). He wants to marry her, indeed he even buys a ring - but when the airline makes him check in his bag, then lose the thing and a baby throws up over his shirt he might be forgiven for thinking he'd be better of staying at home. Nope, he perseveres and meets her folks - "Jack" (Robert De Niro) and "Dina" (Blythe Danner) and now his troubles really do begin. Rather than just the usual charming family repartee, "Greg" finds himself under a microscope of penetrative inquisition from his would-be in-law, and it gradually emerges that he has maybe held back on a few truths with "Pam" and he does (or doesn't) like cats. He's also a male nurse called "Focker" - further facts which don't really helps his cause, either. As the weekend progresses, "Greg" lurches from the frying pan to the fire, trashes a sentimental urn, get's stitched up by her brother "Denny" (Jon Abrahams) and I think if it'd been me, I'd have abandoned ship however much I might have loved the woman. Danner always manages to impose herself gently in comedy, her facial expressions and demeanour adding an approving or disapproving look that speaks volumes, and here she works well with De Niro whose controlling behaviour is really the source of much of the humour here. It's not laugh out loud funny, and there's far too much dialogue, but when De Niro is at his most controllingly mischievous, then this is worth a watch. Who doesn't like a bit of Peter, Paul & Mary too?