Stiller, who is shaping up to be one of the most adept comic performers of our time, does a terrific job of building sympathy for the hapless outsider.
Meet the Parents (2000)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:138
Fresh:116
Rotten:22
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: This upbeat comedy is hilarious and, at the same time, believable and something people can relate to.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] sexual content, drug references and language
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Oct 6, 2000 Wide
Box Office: $164,454,835
Synopsis:
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is head over heels in love with his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), and is ready to pop the big question. When his attempt to propose is thwarted by a phone call with the news...
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is head over heels in love with his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), and is ready to pop the big question. When his attempt to propose is thwarted by a phone call with the news that Pam's younger sister is getting married, Greg realizes that the key to Pam's hand in marriage lies with her formidable father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro).
A trip to New York for her sister's wedding seems just the right occasion for Greg to ask Pam to be his wife. But everything that could possibly go wrong, does.
Upon his arrival at the family's picturesque, Norman Rockwell-like home, Greg is greeted by what appears to be the picture-perfect family: a loving husband and wife with a doting son and two daughters and a beloved cat. But for a guy who usually resorts to dry wit in stressful situations, Greg is suddenly shooting blanks with Jack, a retired horticulturist…and rather imposing figure. No one is good enough for Jack's first-born daughter, and the fact that Greg is a cat-hating male nurse with a vulgar-sounding last name is not helping things at all.
While Greg bends over backwards to try and make a good impression, his weekend begins with lost luggage at the airport and turns into a hilarious series of one disaster after another.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, James Rebhorn, Owen Wilson, Thomas McCarthy, Jon Abrahams, Phyllis George, Nicole DeHuff
Director: Jay Roach
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriter: Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Producer: Nancy Tenenbaum, Jane Rosenthal, Jay Roach
Composer: Randy Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Meet the Parents
The sight-gags and verbal repartee hinge upon uninspired, lowest-common-denominator hijinks.
...highly amusing...at times leaves most of the men in the audience throwing their heads back and realizing exactly how realistic the situation at hand is.
Es lamentable que el talento de DeNiro se esté desperdiciando en cintas que no terminan de cuajar, por muy taquilleras que éstas sean
A brilliant comedy in which we laugh that we do not cry -- although we do wince, as every expectation the main character has of things turning out okay crumbles and his face gets ever the redder.
Deliciously funny and warmly poignant, it's a treat to Meet the Parents.
Ben Stiller, an excellent comic actor, does some of his best work here, matched up with one of the all-time greats, Robert De Niro.
Quite simply, this Focker has us laughing out loud frequently and abundantly.
Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller give the comedy of disaster a nice little workout.
De Niro, once again proving that he understands comedy as well as urban psychoses.
An adult-oriented comedy that, while hardly reserved, rests its very funny foundation on well-conceived characterization, lively dialogue and good acting.
If De Niro's mafia comedy Analyze This went for cheap laughs, Meet The Parents develops real depth.
Meet the Parents has all the elements of either a bedroom farce or a Hardy Boys mystery. Turns out it's the former, and a mighty funny one at that.
I literally found myself gasping for breath during Meet the Parents' most comic moments, wishing I could rewind the film.
It's warm and humorous and avoids being mean-spirited, which alone makes it special.
Latest News for Meet the Parents
February 20, 2009:
Weekly Ketchup: Meet the Little Fockers
This week's movies are a surprising batch of mostly original concepts (no remakes and just one sequel), and star-studded to boot, including new movies for Ben Stiller, Tom... More...
November 18, 2008:
More Fockers for Stiller? ![]()
According to Roger Friedman at Fox News, the wheels are turning on another "Meet the Parents" sequel. More...
May 21, 2008:
More Austin Powers, Meet the Parents Sequels? ![]()
According to producer/director Jay Roach, we may yet see more sequels in the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents franchises. More...
February 26, 2007:
Yep, "Little Fockers"
Isn't it hilarious how "Fockers" sounds so much like a rrrrreally dirty word? So funny, in fact, that the gag is about to inspire its second film! Expect the whole... More...
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