Meet the Parents

Whenever I'm in the mood to watch a good comedy movie, I often turn to Ben Stiller movies. My favorite Stiller movie used to be "There's Something About Mary" (starring Stiller and Cameron Diaz). But "Mary" has been replaced with my all time favorite Ben Stiller movie, the 2000 comedy "Meet the Parents".

"Meet The Parents" stars Ben Stiller as Greg Focker. Teri Polo plays his fiance, Pam Byrnes. Greg and Pam travel to Pam's parent's house for a family wedding-- and it's the first time Greg meets Pam's family, the Byrnes'.

Robert DeNiro plays Jack Byrnes, Pam's very scary ex-CIA agent father. Jack immediately takes a disliking to Greg Focker. DeNiro's performance is flawless as the father who feels that no man is good enough for his daughter. He puts Greg through all kinds of psychological tests-- and caps things off with a lie detector test!

Blythe Danner plays Pam's clueless mom, Dina, and Owen Wilson (a staple in most Stiller movies) does a great job as Pam's too-good-to-be-true ex-boyfriend Kevin.

This movie is funny for several reasons. First and foremost, Ben Stiller's deadpan style is always funny. Next, to see Robert DeNiro in a comedy role is worth the price of admission-- he does a phenomenal job as Jack Byrnes. The writing in this movie is great-- it is rare that I laugh out loud during a movie, but with "Meet The Parents" I laugh aloud often.

The storyline goes like this: Greg and Pam travel to Pam's parent's house for Greg's first time meeting with her parents. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. First, the airline loses Greg's luggage. Then, he gets off to a rocky start with Pam's dad, a cat lover (apparently Greg isn't a cat fan). When Pam confides to Greg that her father used to work for the CIA but is now retired, Greg overhears a conversation that makes him think that Jack Byrnes is not retired after all.

A bunch of mishaps occur. Greg has a mishap with a champagne cork and breaks a treasured urn in the Byrnes' dining room (you'll never guess what the urn held). Then, Greg meets Pam's ex, a rich and talented fellow named Kevin (and the only guy that Pam dated that her father ever liked). There's a hilarious pool scene where Greg (sans luggage) is forced to borrow Kevin's skimpy swim trunks and engage in a game of water polo with some very competitive players. Surrounded by a bunch of doctors for the family wedding (Greg is a nurse) Greg feels inadequate and embarrassed and tries to do anything to impress Pam's dad. Unfortunately, he just gets into more trouble when he accidentally lets Jack's beloved pet cat, Mr. Jinx, out the back door. Desperate to win Jack's favor, Greg concocts a scheme involving the cat-- a scheme that goes horribly awry. The film culminates with some very funny scenes at the rehearsal dinner for the wedding. When Greg tries to blow Jack's CIA "cover", he blows more than that. By the film's final scenes, the entire Byrnes family has had enough of Greg-- including Pam!

There is also a funny montage at the end of the film-- apparently Jack Byrnes has some hidden cameras throughout the house and he catches Greg in some odd behaviors.

Other highlights include the lie detector test and Greg and Jack's trip to the drugstore (this is where Jack first starts to dislike Greg). There is also a funny storyline involving Jack's cat, Mr. Jinx, and the fact that he knows how to use the toilet (apparently Jack painstakingly trained the cat how to urinate in the toilet). In fact, when a broken toilet accidentally gets flushed and runs, Greg blames it on Mr. Jinx, which just makes Jack despise him even more.

The best parts of this film are the scenes with Stiller and De Niro. These two talented actors just play off of each other-- with hilarious results. Of course the movie ends on a soft note-- after Greg has a meltdown on the airplane on his way home. But everything works out in the end, as it often does in Hollywood. If you're looking for a good laugh-- or two or three-- I highly suggest that you watch "Meet The Parents".