Meet the Parents (2000 movie)

Directed by: Jay Roach
Released: 2000
Country: United States

Genres: Comedy, Romantic

Main cast: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Nicole DeHuff, Jon Abrahams

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review

''Meet the Parents'' has everything you can expect from an enjoyable, good romantic comedy movie- the humor, the romance, and even the dramatic elements are also present there. And it does, indeed, meet with all your expectations, which is what makes it a brilliant film, a film that is never boring and always funny, humorous.

But what contributes more to the excellence of the film are the performances by Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, whose performances are truly excellent. With exception of a few scenes, the film is funny and entertaining.

The film starts with entertainment, and ends with entertainment. That's also what contributes to make it a highly noteworthy romantic comedy movie.

It's lead character, Greg Focker (played by Ben Stiller), is a male nurse, which is later made fun of by Jack (the character of Robert Di Niro) on several occasions. Greg and Pam (played by Teri Polo) are deeply in love with each other. Pam's sister is getting married. So Greg and Pam go to spend the weekend with Pam's parents and attend her sister's wedding.

Greg is introduced to Pam's father, Jack, who takes a dislike at Grey at the first sight, and Pam's mother, the pleasant Dina. Though Greg tries to impress Jack, his effort fail. He accidentally ends up in a room with a lie detector, and later Pam informs him that Jack is a retired CIA officer.

Gradually, some of Greg's actions lead to troubles: he accidentally hurts Pam's sister's eyes with a ball while a game, and one of his actions set a fire on the wedding altar, and the Jinx, Jack's dear cat, also goes missing, a result of one of his actions.

But in spite of these ridiculousness and funny elements, the film does have a heartwarming ending. The film tries it's best, and it succeeds in doing so.

A funny movie, perhaps one of the funniest movies made in 2000. A romantic comedy film where the hero and the heroine love each other deeply, but will he be able to get her father's permission? Will her father finally like him? What difficult things does he do to impress her father?

Meet the Parents also has some slapstick humor. It has some very funny moments. I won't describe them here because I want those to be a surprise to you.

Casting was excellent. Ben Stiller and Teri Polo are both amazing, and Robert Di Niro's acting deserves the most praises. His performance as the over protective father of Pam is highly remarkable. Also present are Blythe Danner, who plays Dina, the mother of Pam, who is pleasant and is soft-hearted, much different than her husband. Owen Wilson plays Kevin, the ex-fiance of Pam and is brilliant in carpentry. His performance is also quite remarkable. Then there are Nicole DeHuff, who plays Pam's sister Debbie, who is to be married. Thomas McCarthy plays Debbie's fiance. There is also Jon Abrahams as Denny, the younger brother of Debbie and Pam. His performance is praiseworthy. James Rebhorn and Phyllis George play Larry and Linda respectively, the parents of Debbie's fiance Bob.

Therefore, the casting was strong and excellent, and everyone played their roles well.

Cinematography was quite good. The scenes are wonderfully shot. The background music was okay. 

Overall, Meet the Parents is a highly remarkable movie that will meet with all your expectations and will thoroughly entertain you. It's a highly recommended film. It's very funny, quite romantic and overall,  very good.

3.5 out of 5