Gaylord Focker is back in Meet The Fockers, the sequel to the hilarious Meet The Parents and this time we get to meet his parents. With a pretty stellar lineup cast for his parents you would think this movie was bound to be extremely funny. Come on Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman as eccentric Fockers, how can that not be funny right? Well the movie will most likely make you laugh or chuckle at least once; it doesn't have the same originality as the original Meet The Parents.
In Meet The Fockers, Gaylord (Ben Stiller) or Greg as he likes to be called and his fiancee Pam are finalizing plans to get married, but before they do they think it would be best for their parents to meet each other. After all they are going to family in just a few months. So Greg and Pam meet her parents Jack (Robert DeNiro) and Dina at their home and plan to take Jack's RV to meet Greg's parents. This time Jack is babysitting his grandson Little Jack who he treats as a person and has some bizarre yet funny sign language with. So they drive down to see Greg's parents at their home in Florida and as you guessed and probably saw in the previews, Greg's parents are quite bizarre hippy-esque type people who create some embarrassing moments for Greg throughout the movie. Without going too much further into the plot you pretty much watch their 48 hours together and all the quirks of putting the well structured Byrnes with the outrageous Fockers.
The first thing I expected from Meet The Fockers was a guaranteed laugh fest, but it's not really the case. Although there were at least a few occasions where I laughed, it wasn't throughout the movie like I was hoping. I think this sequel was just lacking some originality. The writers overuse the Focker last name and put all the characters into some predictable situations assuming you've seen Meet The Parents. Sure Focker sounds like a swear word (teehee), but that joke gets old after a little while, especially by the time you watch the sequel. Still there are some funny parts in the movie like the Fockers' dog who is sex crazed just like the Fockers themselves; although they beat the sexual innuendos to death by the end of the movie.
Besides that it doesn't have a bad storyline. It's more than just the two families meeting. I mean for a comedy it still had a bit of a dramatic edge to it as there was tension between everyone in the family and Jack was driving everyone crazy with his paranoia and controlling behavior.
I would definitely make sure to at least rent this one; it provides a decent dose of comedy. It may not be best comedy of the year or even worthy of a nomination in such a category, but the unusual Focker family does provide a few good laughs. If you liked Meet The Parents undoubtedly you will like this sequel as well as it picks up right where the first left off pretty much, just throwing in some fresh faces, though you may find the humor less humorous the second time around.
"Meet The Fockers" opens December 22, 2004 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Directed by Jay Roach. Written by James Herzfeld. Starring Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson, Tim Blake Nelson.
