Another family affair
Some new faces, same old jokes
 | | Dustin Hoffman adds a spark of warmth as Ben Stiller's dad in Meet the Fockers. |
By Raymond Johnston
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 10, 2005
The addition of Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand to the ensemble cast is the one bright spot in Meet the Fockers, a middling sequel to the 2000 comedy Meet the Parents.
The humor is more scattered this time around, especially at the beginning. In the first film, Pam (Teri Polo) reluctantly introduced her boyfriend, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), to her parents, Jack and Dina Byrnes (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner). This time, as the title indicates, all four of them — plus a baby — go to meet Greg's parents.
The two sets of parents couldn't be more different. Jack is an ex-CIA operative, while Bernie (Hoffman) is a former radical lawyer with his heart in the 1960s. His wife, Roz (Streisand), is a sex therapist for seniors. Dina has given up on the thought of sex.
Greg tries to keep what his mother does from the rather repressed Byrneses, but the clues are everywhere. And Roz, try as she might, can't help but be embarrassingly open on the subject of sex, somewhat like the father in the American Pie series.
To add further complications, Jack is looking after his baby grandson, Little Jack. He is using strict psychological theories to raise the boy. Putting babies and animals into comedies is often a sign that the filmmakers were running out of ideas, and decided to go for some cute scenes to fill the time. Meet the Fockers has a baby, a dog and a cat, and all of them get involved in slapstick.
Meet the Fockers
Directed by Jay Roach
Starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner |
While it would have been easier for the Byrneses to fly to Florida, they take Jack's motor home. The large vehicle has lots of extra security features that are meant to be funny. But it also seems like a time-filling device. Jack, ever safety-conscious, insists that they travel at the speed limit, causing a predictable traffic jam. This makes the trip take even longer, so the various gadgets can come into play.
Some of the running gags show some signs of wearing out. Jack still uses his cover story to hide his top-secret CIA background. Those who know are in his "circle of trust." Jack has reservations about letting the Fockers into the circle. The joke isn't that funny in the first place, and the film tries to milk it way beyond what it is worth. Dwelling monomaniacally on his circle concept makes Jack's performance more annoying than funny. His use of hidden cameras to spy on people to see if they are trustworthy turns him into even less of a sympathetic character.
But Hoffman does quite a bit to lighten up the paranoid mood with his glib, warm and open performance. He plays well with De Niro, easily grabbing all of their joint scenes. As a screen couple, Hoffman and Streisand display a genuine rapport. It's a shame they didn't have stronger material. They almost — but don't quite — win the audience over by the end.
|
Purchase online
Spotlight on
Weekly list
BOL Online
