Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Meet the Fockers - 3 Stars (Good)
"Meet the Fockers" is the best comedy I have seen in a long
time. It was not overdone and not underdone.
This movie could have been easily over-the-top with its
descriptive title, but there is no hint of it in the
presentation. The Motion Picture Association of America was
not going to allow the title to be used unless the
producers could find an actual family with the surname
"Focker" in North America.
Focker is not exactly the best choice of a name to be
called the rest of your life. Meet the Fockers was a sequel
to Meet the Parents, which raised the question "what sort
of people name their son Gaylord M. Focker (Greg Focker's
full name)?
Despite the easy shots this film could fetch in name alone,
Director Jay Roach and Writers Grey Glienna and Mary Ruth
Clarke (characters), Jim Herzfeld and Marc Hyman (story)
and Herzfeld and John Hamburg (screenplay) kept the name
calling in check. I think they did an incredible job and
the PG-13 rating speaks volumes.
A believable story line and an all-star cast with former
Oscar-winners Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra
Streisand (yes, Streisand won as Best Actress in Funny
Girl) gave this comedy a real boost of professionalism.
By reducing Ben Stiller to a lesser role and playing up the
acting and timing talents of Hoffman and De Niro, this
movie is so much better than the first that there can be no
comparison between the two.
Meet the Fockers may well be the first sequel to a movie
that is better than the original, and that is saying
something in Hollywood.
The reason is De Niro (as Jack Byrnes, father of the
bride), Hoffman (as Bernie Focker, father of the groom) and
Streisand (as Rozalin Focker, mother of the groom) are
believable. I have known people very similar to the roles
they are playing.
I have yet to see a movie with Ben Stiller (as Greg Focker)
in which I thought he was believable. I have never known
anyone like Stiller's character. Adding De Niro, Hoffman
and Streisand makes this movie talent rich.
I highly recommend this movie for its straight comedy in a
very human situation, parents of the bride and groom who
are polar opposites meeting for the first time. Having said
that, I do not think this is a good movie for youngsters.
This film does not revel in the filth, sex and drug culture
as some comedies do, but who wants to answer pertinent
questions from youngsters when trying to be entertained?
Finding Nemo is a more appropriate film for youngsters.
Everyone seemed to enjoy making this movie and I enjoyed
watching it.
Meet the Fockers was short on awards but not short on
humor. As is often the case, it generated $279 million at
the U. S. box office and a staggering $515 million (as in
half billion) worldwide. Not a bad payday by any measure.
Most critics gave Meet the Fockers an average pass while
noting that Meet the Parents was much better. I saw it as
just the opposite.
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Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis
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you the reader. Read my movie reviews on Captain Jack
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