MEET THE PARENTS

SYNOPSIS:
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is madly in love with Pam (Teri Polo) and wants to marry her. But he has to negotiate her parents, especially her dad, Jack (Robert DeNiro), who is an ex- CIA operative with a trained fluffy cat, surveillance devices as a hobby and a penchant for making Pam’s suitors scarce. It starts badly when the airline loses his bag on the way to meet the parents, and goes downhill from there.

"If you enjoyed The In-Laws, Father of the Bride and The Out of Towners, you'll love Meet the Parents, a comedic misadventure with tantalising performances and a big heart. With an agile, knowing glint in his eye, Robert De Niro is irresistible as the father with the most – er, off-putting persona. De Niro switches into these comedic roles effortlessly and with conviction; life's comedies are always serious. Ben Stiller gets better and better, and here he manages the balance between clown with foot-in-mouth, romantic lead and a poignant, endearing character that we care about, with disarming skill. Blythe Danner is superb as Mum; she has just enough zany-ness to allow us to believe that she and Dad with all his peculiarities are indeed a married couple. We know that everything is going to go wrong, and the script is clever in that it allows us knowingly to be in on the gag. We anticipate the lost luggage, the fire, the broken urn, the leaking sewerage, the fire and the missing pedigree pampered pet before it happens; we are willing it not to happen, but succumb to the inevitable with a giggle. When we meet Jinx, the fluffy Himalayan feline with the saucer-size blue eyes and lemon-pursed mouth, we know that this is cat territory, and that Greg is more at home with dogs. Dad quickly points out: 'People who like dogs are emotionally shallow; cats make you work for your affection and don't sell out like dogs do.' And what a scene stealer is Jinx, this divine fur ball, that purrs like a racing car, waves its paw, sits on the toilet and generally is utterly gorgeous. Admittedly any film that presents cats this way rates well with me, being a fan of the feline species generally. The humour is delightful with slapstick, one liners, farce and even some subtle musical jokes to boot. Deliciously funny and warmly poignant, it's a treat to Meet the Parents."
Louise Keller