MEET THE PARENTS stars Ben Stiller as the unfortunately
named Greg Focker, a neurotic nurse intent on marrying his girlfriend,
Pam (Teri Polo). But when the couple visits Pam's family home for her
sister's wedding, he must first win the approval of her father, Jack
(Robert De Niro), a protective ex-CIA agent. Before long, the awkward
Greg and the suspicious Jack go head-to-head, resulting in hilarious
scenes that feature a lie detector test, a suburban car chase, a
toilet-trained cat, and a mean game of water volleyball. As the
misunderstandings and mistakes reach an almost nightmarish peak, it
seems as though Greg may never win over Pam's unflinching guardian.
Featuring the inspired pairing of Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (and an
excellent appearance by Owen Wilson), director Jay Roach's clever comedy
exemplifies every man's worst fears about courtship. When things for
Stiller's character get bad, they just continue to get worse,
culminating in a ridiculously funny airport scene. In the tradition of
ANNIE HALL and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, MEET THE PARENTS is an
intelligent yet slapstick comedy about the eccentricities of the
American family.
"...MEET THE PARENTS presents Mr. De Niro as any man's worst
nightmare....A singular achievement."
"...[The filmmakers] cast the perfect foils [Robert De Niro and
Ben Stiller]....One can only say amen to the comedy gods for Stiller's
desperate stab at saying grace..." -- 3 out of 4 stars
Theatrical release: October 6, 2000. This is a remake of the 1993
comedy of the same title. This new version was so successful that a
sequel is in the works. MEET THE PARENTS was originally intended to star
Jim Carrey. Once the role shifted to Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro
signed on, Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg's script was rewritten with the
assistance of Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, who cowrote ELECTION. Ben
Stiller and Owen Wilson previously starred together in PERMANENT
MIDNIGHT. Wilson also appeared in THE CABLE GUY, which was directed by
Stiller. Writer Jerry Stahl, whom Ben Stiller portrayed in PERMANENT
MIDNIGHT, suggested that Stiller's character be employed as a nurse. Ben
Stiller was largely responsible for coming up with the start-and-stop
suburban car chase scene. Blythe Danner is Gwyneth Paltrow's mother.
Robert De Niro signed on for his role without reading the script because
he had faith in the director. Robert De Niro was nominated for a Golden
Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture--Musical or
Comedy. MEET THE PARENTS won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy
Motion Picture of 2000.
"Be nice to this one, okay? I really like him."--Pam (Teri
Polo) to her father, Jack (Robert De Niro) "Okay, I'll
try."--Jack "The dog is an emotionally shallow
animal."--Jack to Greg (Ben Stiller), regarding the superiority of
cats over dogs "See, Greg, if you yell at a dog, his ears will go
down and his tail will cover his genitals even if he's done nothing
wrong. It's very easy to break a dog. But cats make you work for their
affection. Cats don't sell out like dogs do."--Jack to Greg "I
had no idea you could milk a cat."--Dina (Blythe Danner) to Greg
"I'm a patient man. That's what nineteen months in a POW camp will
do to you. If I think you're trying to corrupt my firstborn child in any
way, I will bring you down, baby! I will bring you down to
Chinatown!"--Jack to Greg
"...The casting is inspired, leading with [Stiller]....It goes
down like a flute of Champagne, leaving an aftertaste of
giggles..." -- Rating: B+
"...Painfully funny and funnily painful, MEET THE PARENTS is top
drawer, grown-up comedy. A date movie with teeth..."
"...A well-executed mainstream comedy....[With] an acute,
insightful commentary..."
"...De Niro gives his best comic performance to date....Owen
Wilson is a merry standout..."
"...This buoyant, giddy comedy of catastrophe is the funniest
film of the year so far....MEET THE PARENTS is finely cast and always
outrageous..."
"...Ben Stiller has a good line in embarrassment and chagrin.
His chiseled face looks so earnest, so willing to please, and turn
incredulous as the world conspires against him..."
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