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October 6, 2000/7 Tishri 5761, Vol. 53, No.2
Ben Stiller entertains in 'Meet the Parents'
BETH OLSON
Editorial Assistant
It's hard to imagine more miserable experiences than those which befall Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) in the new comedy "Meet the Parents."
Greg is a sweet, funny, yet slightly insecure Jewish nurse who plans to propose to his non-Jewish girlfriend, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), a Chicago schoolteacher. After his first attempt goes awry, Greg then decides to propose to Pam at her family's New York home during the trip the couple will make for the wedding of Pam's sister, Debbie (Nicole DeHuff). At that time, Greg will also meet Pam's parents.
When the couple pull up to the Byrnes' home, it's evident that Pam is very close to her father, Jack (Robert De Niro), and he is very protective of her. Greg is intimidated by the domineering Jack, whom Greg believes is a retired horticulturist.
Early in the film, Greg discovers that Jack knows nothing about rare flowers, but is, in fact, a retired CIA agent, with a specialty in lie detection. Still afterward, Greg seems to Jack to be a pathological liar. And he tries to cover up each lie with a more ridiculous untruth.
To make matters worse, Greg's attempts at sarcastic humor fall flat with Jack, as well as with Pam's mother, Dina (Blythe Danner). The harder Greg tries to impress Pam's parents, the more outrageous his stories and antics become. This prompts Jack - who is, by nature, a skeptic - to suspect Greg is up to something. Dina, on the other hand, genuinely likes Greg, although she seems bewildered by his wild tales.
As if Jack's intimidating tactics are not enough for Greg, nothing else seems to go right for him either. His luggage is lost by the airline, forcing him into the embarrassment of having to wear the clothes of both Jack and Pam's teen-age brother, Denny (Jon Abrahams).
Pam's seemingly perfect ex-boyfriend also crops up in the film as the best man in the wedding.
Greg also accidently injures the face of the bride days before the wedding, and loses the beloved family cat, Jinx - all in the same week - with hilarious results.
The performances by Stiller and De Niro are outstanding. Stiller's boy-next-door quality allows us all to believe that he could be someone we know and encourages our sympathy despite the fact that he is the cause of his own misery. De Niro plays Jack as difficult and hard-nosed, yet he is still likeable. And while Stiller is funny throughout the film, he is at his best when playing opposite straight man De Niro.
The only major performance that really detracts from the film is that of Polo. Her character is bland and lacks chemistry with any of the film's other characters. It seems unrealistic that Stiller's character would go through this experience with the family to be with her.
The screenplay is superb. Great comedy is achieved by strong writing rather than reliance on slapstick and gross-out humor. Although these elements are present at times in the film, they add to the laugh-out-loud nature of the movie, rather than trying to carry it along.
"Meet the Parents" is a smart, good-natured and funny look at relationships that will appeal to adults of all ages. The PG-13 film opens today at theaters throughout the Valley.
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