Ok, so how silly am I? Go ahead, you can say it. I had never seen Meet the Parents until just this past weekend, at least not all the way through. Allow me to duck from your aghast faces and possible hurling tomatoes.
When this movie first came out, I was like, "This could be funny." Then, the hype started. I didn't see it in time before the hype made me think: "Oh geez. Everyone thinks this film is a laugh riot, and I probably won't get it or think it's funny like they do." I can think of a dozen films that meet that criteria, starting with Anchorman and the Wedding Crashers. I don't think gross-out humor is always funny, and I like some intelligence underlying my comedy films. It's just the way I roll, baby.
I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed by Meet the Parents. Now I wonder what I was waiting for all this time. It really was funny and intelligently so. I also enjoyed Ben Stiller, who I mostly enjoy, but he has his bombs like anyone else.
Do I need to summarize? For the two of you who haven't seen it, Stiller plays Greg Focker (who real name is Gaylord), a Jewish male nurse. He's in love with Pam Byrnes (Terri Polo), a blueblood and a WASPy type through and through. He wants to marry her. He's already going to her parents' house for her sister's wedding, so he sees this as the perfect opportunity to ask for her father's blessing. The trouble?
Her father is played by Robert DeNiro. And papa Jack, as the overprotective father-type who is way too obsessed with his cat, is determined not to like Greg. Not one bit. Add to that his past as a former CIA operative, and hilarity ensues.
This movie really was funny, sometimes cringily so. The gross-out stuff was used tastefully (is tastefully gross-out an oxymoron in the making? Copyright!), and the situations were really funny. DeNiro plays a great straight man as much as he played a wonderful cartoony gangster in Analyze This (but not so much Analyze That). He's such a great actor, that guy. Comedy and drama he's equally good at.
Stiller was both endearing and hilarious. You really felt for him, despite his questionable blunders. He just couldn't catch a break, and you just had to laugh at his pain.
This movie did have its weak spots. The flushing toilet thing was kind of overkill. There was so much going on, that just seemed like too much. Also, Blythe Danner was underused (but fortunately that was made up for in Meet the Fockers, which I will blog about in a minute). Owen Wilson's part in the film was weird. And the cat scared me.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this flick.
I rate this movie an 8.5. It's a bit better than very good, but for the reasons I provided above, I just couldn't give it a 9. Those are my hangups, but hangups they are. I do think this movie passes the test. I may even relate to it fully someday, if ever I meet some inlaws, but I could see myself buying it to watch if ever I needed to laugh at someone else's pain.
Now, just wait until you read what I have to say about Meet the Fockers...