Who would have ever thought Robert De Niro could leave you in stitches and gasping for air? Well, we know he can do that physically, especially given his filmography, but Meet the Parents shows a side of De Niro that very few could have expected to see. The man knows comedy and is one of the driving forces behind the success of this film.Ben Stiller plays Gaylord “Greg” Focker, a semi-socially awkward male nurse. Teri Polo, a relative unknown at the time, plays Greg’s girlfriend Pam Byrnes. Greg has plans to propose to Pam in a very unique way but Pam gets a phone call from her sister who just got engaged. While listening to Pam’s side of the conversation, Greg overhears Pam say that it was a good thing her sister’s fiancé asked their father for permission first. Greg takes note and abandons his proposal plans until after their upcoming weekend at the Byrnes’ household.
Ironically, this will be the first time Greg has ever met Pam’s parents, so first impressions are a must. Naturally, everything goes wrong. After losing his luggage (and the ring) due to airline incompetence, Greg endures a series of awkward encounters with Pam’s family, her sister’s future in-laws, her ex-boyfriend and even the family cat.
Greg bumbles and fumbles his way through the weekend trying to impress Pam’s stern father. While he is said to be a florist, Jack Byrnes is really a retired CIA operative and deadly serious about everything he does. De Niro’s dead-on approach makes the character perfectly balanced between being kind of creepy and hilariously over the top. Stiller’s trademark goofiness shines through as well, especially in the scenes where his goofiness is forced to be restrained, heightening the awkwardness. Whether it was a decision made by the actors or the director, it was a wise choice.
The humor in Meet the Parents is mostly harmless. While some risqué subjects and gags are carried out, they are done with an innocence about them that modern gross-out comedies can’t quite grasp. Instead of being outright offensive, Meet the Parents loosens viewers up with a string of good jokes and gags and then slips in something otherwise shocking. Instead of going for all-out knee-jerkers, the film aims for hearty chuckles with a dash of uproarious laughter if the audience is willing.
The concept of Meet the Parents adds weight to the humor. Meeting a significant other’s parents for the first time is almost always a nervous time. The film compounds the pressure by having Greg asking permission to marry Pam, another nerve-wracking situation. All this pressure is something many people can relate to, which is an asset to any film and especially to comedies.
With a great majority of audiences knowing what it’s like to meet important new people, a connection is made between the characters and the viewers. We end up embracing these strangers on screen and welcome them into our hearts and minds as friends. We end up cheering for them and with them and we also groan and sympathize when things go awry yet again. In the end, we all get the absurd triumph we’re expecting, but it doesn’t seem obvious to us. It’s a hard fought victory for our team and we leave the theater or living room we watch the film in with a smile on our faces.
While Meet the Parents is not a tour de force of funny, it provides for plenty of laughs and makes for a darn good time at the movies. It is definitely worth seeing.
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
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