Meet the Parents was a remake of the 1992 film with the same title. It is also similar to The In-Laws (1979). The story has Jewish male nurse Greg (Ben Stiller) trying to impress the father (Robert De Niro) of would-be fiancee Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo).

Mr. Byrnes is a wealthy WASP and a retired CIA interrogator. He derives almost sadistic pleasure in intimidating and humiliating Greg, who responds to the stress by showing increasingly poor judgment.

Depending upon your point of view, Meet the Parents may be too painful to watch to be a comedy. One feels sorry for Greg at first, as despite his best efforts it seems unlikely he will ever impress his sly inquisitor. It doesn't help that Greg's rival is Kevin (Owen Wilson), a talented and fabulously wealthy man who is almost sickeningly nice.

As the film progresses, however, hapless Greg begins to dig his own grave. White lies snowball into obvious whoppers, and worse, he unintentionally causes nearly as much property damage as General Sherman's troops in Georgia.

All of which makes the requisite happy ending spectacularly improbable. The film's natural progression is to finish instead with Greg in the slammer, where he shares a cell with a large and amorous sex offender.

Mr. Byrnes is the movie's most interesting character. He controls his family tightly, even though the children are grown and have their own homes and lives. But his main interest is his Himalayan cat Jinx, whom he pampers and obsessively trains to perform tricks. The surprise is how nonchalantly the rest of the family regards his eccentricities, which includes the continuous videotaping of every room in his house.

A further difference that Greg has from Pam's family is that he is Jewish. The script touches on this on a few occasions, but treads carefully to avoid offense. Greg is a Jew by birth and not practice; like Pam, his religion is more of a line on the form than a lifestyle choice.

It is interesting to note how times have changed in the two years since Meet the Parents was released. Greg's job as a male nurse has gained status, because it is recession-proof. If Kevin didn't sell his biotechnology stocks, they would have lost most of their value by now. Jokes about bombs in airplanes are now politically incorrect.

Meet the Parents is directed by Jay Roach, who is best known for the three lucrative Austin Powers comedies. As this film targets an older audience, the humor is less crass and outrageous.

Although situations are exaggerated, the film accurately depicts what a suitor feels like when he first visits the more successful parents of his intended. Greg tries to bridge the gap between his own low self esteem and how he wishes to project himself to Pam's father. Mr. Byrnes, who has seen all this before with previous boyfriends, toys with Greg knowing full well that he will eventually break him down.

Byrnes is aided in his cause by his extended 'circle of trust', all obnoxious overachievers who fuel Greg's insecurity and paranoia through relentless ridicule.

Meet the Parents received good if not overwhelming critical praise, and it was a winner at the box office. De Niro received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy or musical, while Stiller won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor.

I found the film to be more painful than funny, and I lost sympathy for Greg because he didn't take responsibility for his own actions. I did like the casting, characters, and premise, and perhaps a less cynical approach by Roach would have led to a noteworthy film. (54/100)

k@filmsgraded.com, filmsgraded.com


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older