Meet the Fockers (Widescreen Edition)
by Jay Roach
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Actor: Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Teri PoloDirector: Jay Roach
Brand: Universal Studios
Producer: Amy Sayres
Producer: Jane Rosenthal
Writer: Greg Glienna
Writer: Jim Herzfeld
Writer: John Hamburg
Writer: Marc Hyman
Writer: Mary Ruth Clarke
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 115 minutes
Published: 2005
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-19
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 25823
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- TESTED
DVD Reviews of Meet the Fockers (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Streisand and Hoffman Lend Buoyancy as Mother and Father Focker in a Minor League Comedy
Summary: 3 Stars
It shouldn't be too big a surprise that this movie is a fairly mediocre Hollywood confection, but I did have a whimper of a hope that this was going to be an edgier social commentary given the comedy potential of the situation. Alas, it would be too much to expect director Jay Roach to be in the same league as David O. Russell or Alexander Payne given that his track record is mostly made up of Austin Powers movies. I never saw the original Meet the Parents, so luckily I don't have that point of comparison, but one can easily fill in the blanks with this soft-centered sequel. Written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, the plot seems ready-made from an instant pudding mix. Having given permission to Gaylord Focker to marry their daughter Pam, the white-bread Byrnes family from Oyster Bay now prepares to meet their new in-laws in Florida (of course).
Simple enough, but the big surprise is that Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand (third and fourth-billed, no less) seem to be having such a great time playing Bernie and Roz Focker that you can almost overlook the script deficiencies. Each had auspicious film debuts over 35 years ago (he in The Graduate, she in Funny Girl), and they have known each other since their struggling New York days in the early sixties. That history is helpful in explaining their natural chemistry here, and you're left wondering why these two never worked together before. Streisand, in particular, seems relaxed as a free-wheeling, caftan-wearing, opinionated sex therapist, which seems like a send-up of her self-important psychiatrist in her own The Prince of Tides. For once, she's not bathed in candlelight in some Harlequin romance with a blonde gentile unable to commit. Rather, she lends credibility to a grounded character in an often hilariously passionate marriage to a physical and intellectual equal, and at certain moments in this film, I don't think I've liked Streisand more onscreen.
If Hoffman seems less surprising, it's only because he has already proven to be a masterful comic actor with Tootsie and Wag the Dog. Even when the running gags (a passion for capoeira, overzealous displays of affection) get tired, he still imbues his caricature with a zestful spirit. The remaining elements of the film seem tired in comparison, and unfortunately I have to include the original stars. Perhaps it's because they are recycling behavior that would be hard to refresh a second time. Robert DeNiro's tiresome portrayal of Jack Byrnes, the intimidating ex-CIA spook, is particularly disappointing and not so much because the actor is slumming (which he is) but because his character works on only one motivation, to humiliate and eventually eject his future son-in-law from the "circle of trust". There are hints that the summit meeting of Hoffman, DeNiro and Streisand would turn into something more substantial, but the sitcom dimensions of the script quickly extinguish the possibilities. Ben Stiller, who is the actual protagonist of this comedy, seems to be sitting back as his character, Gaylord, recedes into the background. He has exactly one funny scene on his own, when he spouts his honest feelings after being injected with a "truth serum".
The whole subplot with Gaylord being accused of fathering his former family housekeeper's son seems tired and superfluous. I like Blythe Danner as Jack's wife, Dina, looking to resuscitate some spark in their marriage, and Teri Polo, who actually seems sharp and worthwhile as the fiancée at the center of the story. But neither is given much to do except a funny scene where Roz uses hand puppets to teach Dina how to get sex out of Jack. If seeing DeNiro wearing a homemade rubber "manary gland" sounds hilarious, by all means go see this movie. For me, it just made me think how it would be great to see Hoffman and Streisand re-team in a James Brooks comedy, how DeNiro should go back to Scorsese for career guidance and how Stiller may want to take a break before he plays yet another nebbish character. By the way, I'm guessing Streisand's "A Star Is Born"-era hairdo is an in-joke to her partner since her character's name was Esther Hoffman. Now that's the kind of subtlety this comedy needed.
The 2005 DVD features two versions of the film - the theatrical cut and a completely unnecessary extended cut, which edits in several deleted scenes. Like the DVD treatment for Ray, the additions are announced to the viewer through a blinking gimmick and consequently inhibit the flow of the narrative. It's better to see these understandably excised scenes separate from the film. Roach and editor/co-producer Jon Poll provide a so-so commentary track, and there is also a fitfully funny blooper reel. Several disposable shorts are included, among them "Fockers' Family Portrait" featuring brief snippets from Hoffman, Streisand and Stiller; a behind-the-scenes look at Jinx the Cat ("Inside the Litter Box"); another behind-the-scenes look, this time at the infant ("The Adventures of a Baby Wrangler"); a five-minute featurette on "The Manary Gland"; and a Today Show interview with the entire cast.
Description of Meet the Fockers (Widescreen Edition)
MEET THE FOCKERS - DVD MovieMeet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and watch the in-laws clash as Gaylord squirms. As with the original, there is a sense of joy in watching these actors take on their roles with obvious relish, and the Hoffman-Streisand-Stiller triumvirate is likeable enough to draw you in. But the formula doesn't work as well in Fockers mostly because much of the humor is based on two obvious gimmicks: Gaylord Focker's name, and the fact that Streisand's character is a sex therapist. As a result, the movie itself is more contrived and predictable, and a lot less fun than the original. The casting is grand, but one wishes more thought was put into the script.--Dan Vancini
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