Year:
2000
Studio:
Universal Pictures/DreamWorks SKG
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
3/5
This is a movie about every guys relationship nightmare -- meeting the
SO's parents. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) are
a young couple in love. He's a male nurse and she teaches elementary
school. Greg is about to propose to Pam when he discovers that she is
more traditional and expects him to ask permission from her father
first.
And he will get that chance because Pam's sister is getting married and
she's going back home for the wedding. Naturally, Greg is there and
meets Pam's parents, Jack and Dina (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner).
Things just go downhill from there because Jack is a former CIA
interrogator and he doesn't like Greg.
Still, the wedding preparations are going on as usual and Greg, through
some rather unfortunate events, ends up slowly ruining the whole
wedding. He loses the cat, sets fire to the wedding altar, disfigures
the bride. Jack meanwhile comes to think of Greg as a pot-smoking BDSM
freak that is a danger to his daughter.
It all comes down to a final confrontation that Greg loses. But it is
in that loss that Jack comes to realize how much Pam loves Greg and
what a jackass he has been throughout. There is a final reconciliation
and everything ends up happily ever after. At least until the sequel. Meet the Parents is a funny movie
with some touching moments. |
There are two
commentary tracks. Director Jay Roach (who apparently is married to
Susanna Hoffs) and Editor Jon Poll are on the first track. Roach is
talkative and interesting, providing annecdotes and insight.
Occasionally Poll puts in a few words. The second commentary track has
Roach, Actors Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, and Producer Jane
Rosenthal. Much less talking here, possibly because it's a bigger
group. Roach does most of what is said with a good amount of comments
from Stiller and some from Rosenthal. De Niro rarely says anything (and
he rarely said anything in the commentary track for Analyze This so maybe that's just
the way he is).
There is a 25-minute behind the scenes special and some other sundry
extras. There are two quizzes, one patterned after a lie detector test.
Don't like quizzes because the questions tend to be dumb and the
possible answers inane.
What I liked: Owen Wilson playing Pam's almost-New-Age
ex-fiancée Kevin.
What I didn't like: they never did anything with the BDSM suitcase.
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