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Meet
The Fockers (12A)
Written by Jim Herzfeld, Marc Hyman and John Hamburg, Directed by Jay Roach
On general release (not FACT) from 28th January 2005
Reviewed by
“What kind of parents name their son ‘Gaylord’?”
asked Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) in 2000’s Meet The Parents. For
some reason it has taken four years for Jay Roach to come up with the
obvious reversal, though those of us who saw Greg ‘Gay’ Focker
(Ben Stiller)’s introduction to the Byrnes family can well understand
his reluctance in bringing them home. Greg is still struggling to stay
inside Jack (Robert De Niro)’s infamous ‘circle of trust’,
and with the marriage on the way he is still desperate to impress his
prospective in-laws.
Though ex-CIA man Jack is pleased to hear that the Fockers are a doctor
and a lawyer, he is less pleased to discover that Roz (Barbra Streisand)
specializes in sex therapy, while Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) – once
“a regular Clarence Darrow” - quit the legal profession to
become a full time dad to young Gaylord. For the next two hours all hell
breaks loose, with an amorous dog, a genius baby and repeated use of the
f-word – Focker that is - adding to the fun.
Meet The Fockers has divided the critics, with many decrying its style
of humour and a perceived lack of progression from its predecessor. If
anything, I think this film is even better. All the slapstick and toe-curling
embarrassment is still there, but there is also a new, deeper side to
the comedy this time. It’s your chuckle muscles rather than grey
matter that will be exercised, but there’s a definite philosophical
difference that underscores the clash between the uptight, conservative
Byrneses and the delightfully liberated Fockers. Quite simply, fans of
Meet The Parents will surely find its sequel similarly hilarious. |