Meet The Parents

This is the story of young man who loves a young woman and wants to ask for her hand in marriage. But before he does that, he believes that a meeting with the young woman’s father and asking for his approval would be a good idea. They meet and things don’t go too well. You see, the father loves his daughter very much and isn’t sure about this young man. The father is also very good at psychological profiling…and he’s quite paranoid. Let the fun begin.

A very funny movie that is able to combine a great premise with ideal actors, laugh out scenes with a sentimental touch and over the top sequences with a believable story line. Go see this movie and laugh! See it with your parents and join in the fun. See it with your better half and remark on the similarities. See it with your brother, your sister, you cat for God’s sakes, most “people” should be able to identify and appreciate this film. And even though I love toilet humor as much as the next guy, I have to admit that it was nice to see a movie that despite some “easy” dirty jokes (one excellent running gag was the use of the Stiller character’s last name during the entire feature, spelled f-o-c-k-e-r), relied mostly on sight gags, physical comedy and finely tuned humorous moments. Really well-made. And kudos to director Jay Roach who came off his one-two punch of the AUSTIN POWERS movies with a solid underrated uppercut a la MYSTERY, ALASKA (8/10) and TKO’d it all with this.

And DeNiro, boy-oh-boy, what can be said about Robert DeNiro? Is there anything that this man can’t do? Another one out of the ballpark for the man best known for his dedication to the craft of acting, with one more extremely effective comedic performance. Wow. Now let’s see Pacino take a few shots at the game of funny! Woo-haa, indeed! But I can’t top off this review without mentioning the great work done here by the incomparable Ben Stiller. I love this guy! I love his whole persona, his nervous twitches, his way of being sincere, funny and serious all at the same time. I really do believe that he is one of the more underrated comedic actors of our time and I sincerely hope that he gets more recognition after this. The rest of the performers were also very well cast, notably Blythe Danner as the aloof mother and Owen Wilson, set perfectly as the stinkin’ rich ex-fiancé. Gotta love that crooked nose of his. I enjoyed this entire movie from start to finish. It’s funny when it has to be, hilarious when it needs to be and even touching as it nears conclusion. Many memorable lines, many funny moments with the cat (cat haters beware!) and an overall good time. Don’t go in expecting the world to bowl you over with this but do expect to be thoroughly entertained. Thumbs way up, folks!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian