WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) loves Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) and wants to propose to her.
Shortly before popping the question, Greg learns that Byrnes family protocol prefers he (Greg) clear the engagement with Pam's father. Eager to get on in life with the woman he loves, Focker sets up a trip to visit Pam's parents.
Greg meets the parents – and all hell breaks loose. His escalating efforts to impress Pam's father (Robert DeNiro) result in absolute chaos. Focker is forced to weave a growing web of deceit which threatens to sink his chances with Mr. And Mrs. Byrnes, and destroy his relationship with Pam forever...
THE GOOD:
Meet the Parents is the latest offering from director Jay Roach (the two Austin Powers features & Mystery, Alaska), Jane Rosenthal (the producer of Analyze This), and Nancy Tenenbaum (producer of sex, lies, and videotape and The Rapture). It's co-written by Jim Herzfeld (co-writer of Tapeheads and a former writer/producer on Married, With Children) and John Hamburg (co-writer of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's Zoolander).
The film is exactly what you'd expect given this pedigree: a sometimes raunchy, frequently edgy, occasionally dark, and generally fast-moving comedy whose carefully-calculated (and sometimes insidious) humor suggests many very smart people were behind the crafting of a film which, as a whole, feels surprisingly natural and effortless.
Performances are uniformly exceptional – even actors sometimes known for going a bit over-the-top (like James Rebhorn) find a comfortable home here. De Niro plays Jack Byrnes with uncharacteristic subtlety – he's so quietly intimidating most men would not want to date his daughter, no matter how hot she is. He is casual and pleasant, but utterly hawkish – constantly utilizing covert psychological profiling techniques from his days as a CIA "mole hunter" to evaluate (and utterly destroy) the graceless Greg Focker (played by Ben Stiller – yes, the writers get a lot of mileage out of the character's last name).
Stiller quickly sets himself up as the straight man of the movie – most of MtP's humor is at his expense. He immediately gets caught in an ever-intensifying paradox: his feeble and desperate efforts towards pro-action (getting in the good graces of papa De Niro) lead to further chaos & increased character assassination by those around him. The poor Focker's incompetence is initially hilarious, but ultimately becomes a bit sad & bitter-sweet as we come to realize Greg will stop at nothing to win the support of Pam's father – but his every effort to do so takes him further and further away from his goal.
Blythe Danner, who hasn't been seen on-screen too much lately, makes a welcome appearance as Dina – Greg's potential Mother in Law. At first she seems a little "out of it," but when all is said and done, she has her finger on reality's pulse better than anyone else in the film. Owen Wilson (Armageddon, Shanghai Noon) shows-up as Kevin – the do-no-wrong golden boy who used to be Pam's fiancée. He's managed to accept Pam's involvement with Greg, even though the jealous and intimidated Focker has trouble accepting Kevin's existence on any level. Wilson's squeaky-clean, totally together, and impossible-to-dislike good nature serves as a perfect counter-balance to Stiller's beleaguered and increasingly grungy Greg.
In case you haven't gotten the picture by now, there's a lot of layering in this film. What happens at "face value" in this movie often suggests a bigger picture not always elaborated upon – providing Meet the Parents a "real world" (answers and personalities are not always clean-cut and obvious) depth and dynamic frequently not found in comedic efforts these days. This is a major factor in the film's overall effectiveness.The score by Randy Newman (the two Toy Story films, The Natural, and Pleasantville) is appropriately minimalist – generally letting the on-screen action and performances speak for themselves. Newman's theme song for the film ("A Fool in Love") is one of his better recent works – be sure to note how the song's opening lyrics are subtly synced-up to the Universal & DreamWorks company logos.
While the movie's personality is (generally) consistent, its final fifteen minutes feel a bit "off." Perhaps this is because the film takes a few pseudo-serious turns to bring resolution to its plotline – which is a bit incongruous with the mood previously established by Roach & Co. Although, I've a hunch the ending of the film may have originally been somewhat different – and was adjusted late in the game. I don't have any evidence to support this theory, but MtP's conclusion has a slightly inorganic quality.
Gauging from last week's screening audience's reaction to Meet the Parents (and from discussing the movie with friends after the screening), there's a pretty good chance many people will see this film in many different ways. Some people laughed at elements other people didn't even crack a smile at. Some people laughed all the way through the film – even at sequences which were only situationally funny (when no particularly humorous content was on-screen). Some people felt sorry for Stiller's character from the get-go. Some people thought he was an ass who deserved the hell he caught.
These differing perspectives are probably due to the above-mentioned "layering" which runs throughout the film – different people are tapping into different aspects of the movie. Which makes a lot of sense: MtP is about a timeless aspect of the human condition for males and females alike – the profound awkwardness and discomfort of meeting the loved ones of someone we deeply care for, and all the paranoia and self-doubt such meetings carry with them. If everyone sees the film differently, perhaps it's because many of us have had experiences familiarly similar to Greg Focker's, but experiences which were also unique unto themselves. Thus, the "truth" of the film may register differently to different people, depending on each person's individual past. If you talk about this film with someone else who has seen it, you may find it a surprisingly interesting discussion piece.
One of the freshest films of the year (why someone hasn't attacked this subject matter...in this way...before now is beyond me), Meet the Parents is a film edgy enough for guys, and sweet enough for girls. It should find a tremendous audience with both genders, and it deserves to do so. Without giving too much away, it should be noted that Meet the Parents (Nancy Tenenbaum's inspiration for this project came from a short film by Greg Glienna, by the way) manages to conclude its immediate story while nicely setting-up a potential sequel. Usually, I'm not a big fan of sequels – but in this case, I don't think I'd mind a bit. Interestingly, Owen Wilson was in the only other movie I've reviewed this year for which I wanted to see a sequel. Wonder if that means anything?
– Glen thought he had it tough when his (now ex-) wife's father called on the phone one morning, even though he was told the man had died seven years earlier...
The official Meet the Parents website can be accesssed HERE.
THE BAD:
None.
THE UGLY:
None.
4 out of 5 Stars, 8/10 Score
