"their Focking back for more"
Meet the Fockers (12a)
Dir. Jay Roach
Reviewed by Matt Adcock
So you thought your parents were embarrassing? Yes, whilst my dear mother never misses a chance to tell people amusing anecdotes about me (the one when she found me singing ‘Oh happy day, oh happy day, all we like sheep have gone astray’ in my cot is a particularly painful favourite), I still count myself lucky because, well, I could have been a Focker.
If you’ve seen Meet the Parents and had wondered ‘what sort of people name their son Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker?’ then get ready because you’re about to find out.
The story picks up after the events of the first film where male nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) managed to convince ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) to let him into his ‘circle of trust’ and wed his daughter Pam (Teri Polo). Now all that needs to happen before the big day can take place is for the in-laws to meet…
Enter the Fockers - father Focker Bernie (Dustin Hoffman shows he can excel at OTT comedy) and um, mother Focker Roz (a sex mad Barbra Streisand). The Fockers are the polar opposites of the uptight and repressed Byrnes and so the stage is well and truly set for the maximum number of awkward situations, misunderstandings and plays on the word ‘Focker’ you’ll ever see in just under 2hours. Hoffman’s touchy feely humanist Bernie Focker steals all of his scenes, when he’s not canoodling with his free love empowered wife, he’s invading the personal space of repressed Jack Byrnes and it’s just wonderful to watch. Each character gets their moment of glory like when Pam tells her parents that she’s definitely going to be “Pamela Martha Focker!” or little baby Jack’s first word…
Throw into the mix a surgically enhanced lusty housekeeper, plentiful painful slapstick, witty banter and even some interspecies dog / cat experimentation and there it is… It might not be clever and it’s certainly crude but it’s also really funny – and if you liked Meet the Parents, you’ll laugh loud and long at Meet the Fockers (at least I did).
For some reason many critics have panned this film – I have to disagree and with a worldwide gross of $287million and rising it looks like there are a lot of Focker fans out there. If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, I suggest you join them by going to Meet the Fockers for yourself.
Reviewed by Matt Adcock
So you thought your parents were embarrassing? Yes, whilst my dear mother never misses a chance to tell people amusing anecdotes about me (the one when she found me singing ‘Oh happy day, oh happy day, all we like sheep have gone astray’ in my cot is a particularly painful favourite), I still count myself lucky because, well, I could have been a Focker.
If you’ve seen Meet the Parents and had wondered ‘what sort of people name their son Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker?’ then get ready because you’re about to find out.
The story picks up after the events of the first film where male nurse Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) managed to convince ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) to let him into his ‘circle of trust’ and wed his daughter Pam (Teri Polo). Now all that needs to happen before the big day can take place is for the in-laws to meet…
Enter the Fockers - father Focker Bernie (Dustin Hoffman shows he can excel at OTT comedy) and um, mother Focker Roz (a sex mad Barbra Streisand). The Fockers are the polar opposites of the uptight and repressed Byrnes and so the stage is well and truly set for the maximum number of awkward situations, misunderstandings and plays on the word ‘Focker’ you’ll ever see in just under 2hours. Hoffman’s touchy feely humanist Bernie Focker steals all of his scenes, when he’s not canoodling with his free love empowered wife, he’s invading the personal space of repressed Jack Byrnes and it’s just wonderful to watch. Each character gets their moment of glory like when Pam tells her parents that she’s definitely going to be “Pamela Martha Focker!” or little baby Jack’s first word…
Throw into the mix a surgically enhanced lusty housekeeper, plentiful painful slapstick, witty banter and even some interspecies dog / cat experimentation and there it is… It might not be clever and it’s certainly crude but it’s also really funny – and if you liked Meet the Parents, you’ll laugh loud and long at Meet the Fockers (at least I did).
For some reason many critics have panned this film – I have to disagree and with a worldwide gross of $287million and rising it looks like there are a lot of Focker fans out there. If you’re in the mood for a good laugh, I suggest you join them by going to Meet the Fockers for yourself.
"the family weren't sure about De Niro's breakdancing"
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