Rating: Summary: Some high points, but few and far between Review: There are funny moments in Meet the Parents. Owen Wilson, who perhaps has the best performance of the lot, plays the perfect ex-fiance to Ben Stiller's love interest. The only thing he hasn't done is cure the world of all known diseases--but I'm sure he's working on it. There is one scene where he mentions, as an aside, that he carved this ornate altar out of a single block of wood. The delivery of that line is perfect.The movie's flaws are several fold. First, it has trouble landing on being funny or just plain creepy. Part of the problem is Robert DeNiro. A terrific actor, he just doesn't pull off his role. His character just creepy, angry, and offensive, but only marginally humorous. For a movie that shoots for laughs, that's a big problem. In addition, it is almost impossible to like Ben Stiller's character. He is a nicotine addicted, shallow, and deceitful creep. You end up hoping that DeNiro finds some way to end his pitiful existence. Without a main character you can root for, this movie lacks a central core to pull of its "decent guy finds himself in a nuthouse" premise. The ending where Stiller and his fiance get back together is, perhaps, is the worst part. It is cliche and not at all credible. I must, however, separate this from the last moments of the film where Stiller goes into a diatribe without knowing he is being filmed. That may be the best moment in the film. I gave this movie three stars, rather than just two, because I didn't regret watching it--it had its moments--and I had to leave room for the dregs like Stargate and Independence day at the bottom pegs of the scale. Rent if you want; but don't buy.
Rating: Summary: Meet the Best Movie Ever Review: I saw this movie and couldn't stop laughing! The whole romantic comedy was filled with Ben Stiller's unexpected accidents. It is a topsy-turvy subject and you never no what is going to happen next. Also, the hillarious connection between "Greg" (Ben Stiller) and Jack (Robert DeNiro) makes you fall off your seat with laughter. I reccomend this film for people 11+. It has become my favorite movie.
Rating: Summary: But was it that bad? Review: My wife, the loving mother of my children and a deeply, truly compassionate human being had the following to say after watching "Meet the Parents": "The only thing I liked about it was that it ended!" "I chewed my fingers all movie long waiting for someone to kill Ben Stiller!" "I hope that Ben Stiller burns in hell." Clearly, she didn't enjoy this picture.
Rating: Summary: Meeting the Gentiles Review: A better name for this movie is "Meeting the Gentiles." I am extremely tired of seeing Jewish men portrayed as insecure, ineffectual nervous people. I have never met a Jewish man like Woody Allen or this wannabe Woody in "Meeting the Parents." Cinema needs to retire this tiresome persona. It's never been more than barely tolerable. And in this movie, it is just plain creepy. This pathetic... guy is so condescending to his Gentile girlfriend that you pray throughout the movie that they won't stay together; that a light will finally go off in her head and she'll realize the guy is treating her like dirt because she was raised in a clean suburb and not in cesspool like New York or Detroit. It's an awful movie.
Rating: Summary: This is the most histarical movie ever Review: Image u going to your girlfriends home to ask her parents if u can marry her. Then everything goes wroung posible.
Rating: Summary: Comedic Brilliance Review: "Meet the Parents" deserves all of the praise given to it and much, much more. This is a movie that I have seen many, many times and I know that I will be watching this wonderful film for many years to come. The plot is hysterical, the characters and the actors that took on the roles are great, and the humor is laugh-out-loud funny. The plot, while very simple, is one of the funniest plots that I have seen in years. Greg (Gaylord) Focker, who is played by Ben Stiller, falls in love with the woman of his dreams and it's time to meet her parents. The mother of his girlfriend is easygoing but the father, played by Al Pacino, is very hard to get along with and is not overly fond of Greg. Greg gets into every screwup imaginable throughout this film and everybody seems to be turning against him. The actors are great. First of all, you have two acting greats in this film. Ben Stiller and Al Pacino are very well known actors and a third actor, while not known as much of Al and Ben, is Owen Wilson. Plus a cast of other actors that will have you rolling your eyes and just laughing non-stop will make you enjoy the movie the whole time it's playing. Now that you are informed about this great movie what are you waiting for? Order this DVD and be sure to enjoy it. This film is brilliant due to many reasons. It is funny, has great acting talent within it, and has a jawbuckling plot. Be sure to check this movie out, it's very enjoyable and is just plain brilliant! Happy Viewing!!!
Rating: Summary: Funny Comedy Review: Ben Stiller plays a male nurse getting ready to propose to his girlfriend while spending a weekend at her parents house. One problem, the father doesn't like him. Her father is an ex-CIA agent who tries to find out Greg's (Stiller) history. While at their parents house he ends up causing a lot of trouble. Setting the house on fire, torching an altar, destroying a urn, etc. Watch to see what'll happen next.
Rating: Summary: Well constructed comedy with some great lines Review: Meet the Parents is, for me, happy confirmation that Hollywood can still make a terrific comedy that has broad appeal. I wish this would happen more often. Today much of the focus is on audiences between twelve and twenty-five years old. There is no denying that this is the age group that goes to the movies the most, and catering to it is appropriate. Still, the huge hits are almost always ones like Titanic and The Sixth Sense whose appeal is to a much broader age range. This is why Meet the Parents has been so successful. There are things in it a twelve-year old can enjoy, but it is equally entertaining to someone who is sixty. Greg [Ben Stiller] is a highly competent nurse who is head-over-heels in love with Pam Burnes [Teri Polo], a school teacher. He sets up an elaborate marriage proposal for her, but in the middle of it, she not only announces that her sister is engaged, but also exclaims that she is thrilled that her sibling's fiance asked her father's permission first. Greg, who is as insecure as they come, decides not to propose just yet. He will please Pam and her family by waiting to talk to dear old Dad. The opportunity comes when the couple goes from Chicago to New York to attend the sister's wedding. Have you ever been in a situation where nothing you do or say works? That's what Greg encounters when he finally meets the parents. Mother Dina [Blythe Danner] is amiable enough, but father Jack [Robert DeNiro] is, to say the least, a challenge. It isn't that he is heartless or mean. It's that he is ferociously protective of his family, especially of his favorite, Pam. You know the type. No man has ever been good enough for his little Pammy. Making Jack even more formidable is his former profession. He's a retired CIA agent. Ferreting out the truth was his job. The house if full of spy cams, and Jack even owns his own polygraph machine. He just can't let go of these toys or of the spy mentality Then there is the family cat. It's a gorgeous Himalayan that is Jack's favorite pet of all time. Jack says it can never go out side because it has no survival skills. This is a comedy, and, of course, someone lets the cat out. You can guess who manages to do that. And in this comedy of disasters, this is only a small part of Greg's problems. Robert DeNiro, who has shown himself to be a natural in comedies lately, and Ben Stiller, always good for a lot of laughs, play off each other as if they have been a comedy team for years. Blythe Danner is amusing as Mom, and Teri Polo is appropriately sweet and lovable as Pam. Almost stealing the movie is Owen Wilson as Kevin, as Pam's flamboyant, millionaire ex-fiance. Director Jay Roach originally envisioned Kevin as a jock type, but Wilson put his own spin on the character, as he always does. The results are hysterically funny. Near the end of the movie, watch for Kali Rocha, whose interpretation of an airline employee from hell should have you rolling on the floor with laughter. Meet the Parents is an example of a hit that almost wasn't. There were constant rewrites throughout the shoot. DeNiro and Danner were brought back to reshoot the ending, as was Polo to add a new opening. This movie is an example of how persistence can pay off, and, in this case, pay off big time.
Rating: Summary: Not so good Review: This could have and should have been a much better movie. The premise is that Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, is to meet his potential fiance's parents for the first time. The father, Jack Byrnes played by Robert DeNiro, is overly suspicious and overly protective of his daughter, not to mention, his cat. Greg senses this right away and tries throughout most of the rest of the movie to impress his potential future father in law. Of course, everything Greg does and says does exactly the opposite so by the end of the film, Jack is convinced that Greg is conniving and dishonest and completely unsuitable for his daughter. We, the audience are supposed to feel bad for Greg because he is supposedly, a good hearted person. The problem is, he isn't and he really deserves to be excommunicated from this family. The script should have had the various "accidents" that happen in the movie be just that, accidents so we would sympathize with Greg's plight. Instead, at least most of these accidents occurred because Greg actually is dishonest and a person of low moral character. For example, he spray paints the tail of a cat found in a shelter to pass him off as Jack's real cat. Why are we supposed to believe that a person who would do this is a good guy simply because he is only doing it because he feels pressured by Jack? I don't buy it. Especially when he wasn't up front about losing the original cat in the first place which happened because he wanted to smoke a cigarette even though he told Jack and his wife he doesn't smoke. See what I mean? He weaves a huge web of deceit, yet at the end, all is forgiven. There are some fairly humerous parts in this movie but I really couldn't enjoy it because I just could not get myself to like the main character.
Rating: Summary: Hysterical Review: For any couple who are scared to take that extra step into becoming a part of the family, this is a must see. Ben Stiller was hysterical as the outcast who yearns to win over his father-in-law. As the plot unfolds, many different mishaps occur. The family totem, Jinx the cat, is lost. Stiller's character goes to the local animal shelter, and spray paints the tail of a Himalayan so that it will appear that he has saved the day by finding this cat. This new cat wrecks the wedding preparations for Pam's younger sister; the altar that was varnished several times by Kevin bursts into flames. The septic tank needs to be drained because Stiller's character left the toilet running overnight. This is definately not his weekend. However, each faux pas left me howling. This is one of the better films I've seen.
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