Meet the Parents (2001, DVD)

Wow I thought I was nervous the first time I met my now-wife s parents. Shows what I know.

Meet the Parents is a thoroughly enjoyable film that should keep you laughing virtually from beginning to end that is, when you re not wincing in sympathetic pain for the torture poor Ben Stiller endures, which makes the embarrassments of There s Something About Mary (stuck zippers, hair gel and a fishhook to the cheek) seem like a walk in the park by comparison.

In Parents, Stiller plays Greg, a male nurse in a Chicago hospital. Greg has just about everything going for him: he seems to be well-liked by patients and staff, he s being promoted to the triage unit, and he has a sweet and pretty girlfriend, kindergarten teacher Pam Byrnes (played by Gwenyth Paltrow-clone Teri Polo).

With that little black box tucked in his pocket, Greg has arranged a sappily sweet proposal. A fortuitously timed interruption leads Greg to decide that it might endear him more to his future family if he takes the traditional route and meets Pam s parents first, and asks her father s permission to marry her.

Hey, how bad can it be right? Greg even selects a very special gift for his future in-laws, something sure to be a hit with a retired florist specializing in rare flowers.

Famous last words.

If Pam is every guy s dream, her parents---well, her father---may well be every guy s ultimate nightmare. Greg doesn t even make it in the Byrnes front door in suburban New York before the first signs of trouble appear. Pam s clearly daddy s little girl, so Greg tries mightily to make a good impression not an easy task when you ve got Robert DiNiro as a foe.

Two running gags are established before Greg even sits down: his job as a male nurse serves as fodder for several zingers, while his last name, Focker, is ridiculed mercilessly precisely the way you would expect it to be. At one point, a realization dawns on Pam s parents---their daughter s middle name is Martha. Thus, their little girl s married name would be Pam Martha Focker. (By the way, Greg is only a nickname. Watch for his real first name to be revealed it s good for a little more mileage out of the Focker jokes.)

Before the first night is through, Greg has alienated the cat-loving Byrnes parents (Greg s a dog person, which DiNiro s Jack claims is an indication of emotional weakness), inadvertently aimed a video camera well, let s not even go down that road, raised suspicions of being a pot smoker (explaining the symbolism of Puff the Magic Dragon ) and concocted an outrageous tale of milking a cat and that s not even the worst of it.

Gee, even I didn t humiliate myself that much.

The embarrassment is compounded exponentially as Pam s engaged---to a doctor---sister arrives for a lovely backyard wedding. At this point, the film segues nicely from psychological humor (or torture, depending on your perspective) to slapstick physical humor (again, torture could be an apt description).

As if the familial humiliations aren t enough, Greg also gets to meet Pam s ex-fianc e. Oops, did she forget to mention she had been engaged to this guy? Not to worry, it was only a sexual attraction (now there s something every guy likes to hear.) The guy is a stock market whiz, living in a mansion that would make Hugh Heffner proud, Pam s entire family loves him, he still keeps pictures of her all over the place, he s a devout Christian (as are Pam s parents; Greg is Jewish) and he s hand crafting an altar for the wedding. No reason to feel insecure about that, now is there?

Disaster upon disaster continues to plague Greg, including a throwback to a classic episode of The Brady Bunch, until he finally gives up the fight. The ultimate resolution is generally predictable, with just enough twists to bring the film in for a landing, so to speak.

Not surprisingly, the key to the movie s success is the interaction between Stiller and DiNiro. While Stiller s Greg wages a losing battle to remain calm, despite his rather, um, unique prospective future in-laws, DiNiro s Jack is the epitome of calm, cool and collected, and that s exactly why it works so well. DiNiro brings many elements of the types of characters he normally plays to this role, and the humor comes from seeing those traits juxtaposed into a comedy, while he continues playing it perfectly straight. It s the same formula that worked wonderfully for Ahh-nold in Kindergarten Cop. Here, Jack is clearly oblivious to the idea that he might be just a tad overprotective, though his wife, played by Blythe Danner, finally summons up the backbone to tell him so.

The script is fine for a comedy of this type. Most of the jokes work well (particularly in the hands of such a talented cast) and show thought and creativity on the part of the writing team. Rather than force too many gags just to get them in, the writers build up momentum as the film goes on. By the time everything is firing on all cylinders, you ve been hooked.

The lead characters are fleshed out well, and quite appropriately for the intended effect. You can t help but feel Stiller s escalating pain; he s likeable and earnest, instantly sympathetic. DiNiro s Jack is remarkably likeable despite being certifiably psycho.

I probably should not be shocked that after a boffo opening week, there s already a deal for a sequel, though whether it would involve the same cast and characters is not known. Frankly, I think it s a bad idea but no one in Hollywood ever asks for my opinions. (I wonder why that is???)

For a couple of hours of hearty laughs (perfect for decompressing after a long week at work), get acquainted with these Parents. You ll be glad they re not your family.

Parents: besides the endless Focker jokes, there is some mild sexual innuendo (I never imagined I d hear Robert DiNiro utter the line Keep your snake in its cage, but it got quite a response from the audience) and occasional four letter words. There s no nudity, though Ben Stiller comes pretty close in his Speedo the less said about that the better.

My Reese s Rating: 4 Reese s Cups out of 5.