Entertainment Reviews:
New York Times - 10/06/2000
"...MEET THE PARENTS presents Mr. De Niro as any man's worst nightmare....A singular achievement."
USA Today - 10/06/2000
"...[The filmmakers] cast the perfect foils [Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller]....One can only say amen to the comedy gods for Stiller's desperate stab at saying grace..." --
3 out of 4 stars
Entertainment Weekly - 10/06/2000
"...The casting is inspired, leading with [Stiller]....It goes down like a flute of Champagne, leaving an aftertaste of giggles..." --
Rating: B+
Total Film - 01/01/2000
"...Painfully funny and funnily painful, MEET THE PARENTS is top drawer, grown-up comedy. A date movie with teeth..."
Sight and Sound - 01/01/2001
"...A well-executed mainstream comedy....[With] an acute, insightful commentary..."
Rolling Stone - 10/26/2000
"...De Niro gives his best comic performance to date....Owen Wilson is a merry standout..."
Los Angeles Times - 10/06/2000
"...This buoyant, giddy comedy of catastrophe is the funniest film of the year so far....MEET THE PARENTS is finely cast and always outrageous..."
Chicago Sun-Times - 10/06/2000
"...Ben Stiller has a good line in embarrassment and chagrin. His chiseled face looks so earnest, so willing to please, and turn incredulous as the world conspires against him..."
Product Description:
MEET THE PARENTS stars Ben Stiller as the unfortunately named Greg Focker, a neurotic nurse intent on marrying his girlfriend, Pam (Teri Polo). But when the couple visits Pam's family home for her sister's wedding, he must first win the approval of her father, Jack (Robert De Niro), a protective ex-CIA agent. Before long, the awkward Greg and the suspicious Jack go head-to-head, resulting in hilarious scenes that feature a lie detector test, a suburban car chase, a toilet-trained cat, and a mean game of water volleyball. As the misunderstandings and mistakes reach an almost nightmarish peak, it seems as though Greg may never win over Pam's unflinching guardian.
Featuring the inspired pairing of Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (and an excellent appearance by Owen Wilson), director Jay Roach's clever comedy exemplifies every man's worst fears about courtship. When things for Stiller's character get bad, they just continue to get worse, culminating in a ridiculously funny airport scene. In the tradition of ANNIE HALL and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, MEET THE PARENTS is an intelligent yet slapstick comedy about the eccentricities of the American family.
Exerpts:
"Be nice to this one, okay? I really like him." -- Pam (Teri Polo) to her father, Jack (Robert De Niro)
"Okay, I'll try." -- Jack
"The dog is an emotionally shallow animal." -- Jack to Greg (Ben Stiller), regarding the superiority of cats over dogs
"See, Greg, if you yell at a dog, his ears will go down and his tail will cover his genitals even if he's done nothing wrong. It's very easy to break a dog. But cats make you work for their affection. Cats don't sell out like dogs do." -- Jack to Greg
"I had no idea you could milk a cat." -- Dina (Blythe Danner) to Greg
"I'm a patient man. That's what nineteen months in a POW camp will do to you. If I think you're trying to corrupt my firstborn child in any way, I will bring you down, baby! I will bring you down to Chinatown!" -- Jack to Greg
