Details
Movie Description
MEET THE PARENTS stars Ben Stiller as the unfortunately named Greg Focker, a neurotic nurse intent on marrying his girlfriend, Pam (Teri Polo). But when the couple visits Pam's family home for her sister's wedding, he must first win the approval of her father, Jack (Robert De Niro), a protective ex-CIA agent. Before long, the awkward Greg and the suspicious Jack go head-to-head, resulting in hilarious scenes that feature a lie detector test, a suburban car chase, a toilet-trained cat, and a mean game of water volleyball. As the misunderstandings and mistakes reach an almost nightmarish peak, it seems as though Greg may never win over Pam's unflinching guardian.
Featuring the inspired pairing of Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller (and an excellent appearance by Owen Wilson), director Jay Roach's clever comedy exemplifies every man's worst fears about courtship. When things for Stiller's character get bad, they just continue to get worse, culminating in a ridiculously funny airport scene. In the tradition of ANNIE HALL and FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, MEET THE PARENTS is an intelligent yet slapstick comedy about the eccentricities of the American family.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Jay Roach - Director, Jon Poll - Editor
Featurette - 1. DeNiro unplugged
2. Silly Cat Tricks
3. The Truth About Lying
4. Jay Roach: A Director's Profile
Deleted Scenes with Commentary
Outtakes
Theatrical release: October 6, 2000.
This is a remake of the 1993 comedy of the same title. This new version was so successful that a sequel is in the works.
MEET THE PARENTS was originally intended to star Jim Carrey. Once the role shifted to Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro signed on, Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg's script was rewritten with the assistance of Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, who cowrote ELECTION.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson previously starred together in PERMANENT MIDNIGHT. Wilson also appeared in THE CABLE GUY, which was directed by Stiller.
Writer Jerry Stahl, whom Ben Stiller portrayed in PERMANENT MIDNIGHT, suggested that Stiller's character be employed as a nurse.
Ben Stiller was largely responsible for coming up with the start-and-stop suburban car chase scene.
Blythe Danner is Gwyneth Paltrow's mother.
Robert De Niro signed on for his role without reading the script because he had faith in the director.
Robert De Niro was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture--Musical or Comedy.
MEET THE PARENTS won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Motion Picture of 2000.
Industry Reviews
"...MEET THE PARENTS presents Mr. De Niro as any man's worst nightmare....A singular achievement."
New York Times - p.E10 - Elvis Mitchell
"...[The filmmakers] cast the perfect foils [Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller]....One can only say amen to the comedy gods for Stiller's desperate stab at saying grace..." -- 3 out of 4 stars
USA Today - p.2E - Susan Wloszczyna
"...The casting is inspired, leading with [Stiller]....It goes down like a flute of Champagne, leaving an aftertaste of giggles..." -- Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly - pp.51-2 - Lisa Schwarzbaum
"...Painfully funny and funnily painful, MEET THE PARENTS is top drawer, grown-up comedy. A date movie with teeth..."
Total Film - Ceri Thomas (01/01/2000)
"...A well-executed mainstream comedy....[With] an acute, insightful commentary..."
Sight and Sound - p.54-5 - Danny Leigh
"...De Niro gives his best comic performance to date....Owen Wilson is a merry standout..."
Rolling Stone - p.121 - Peter Travers
"...This buoyant, giddy comedy of catastrophe is the funniest film of the year so far....MEET THE PARENTS is finely cast and always outrageous..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (10/06/2000)
"...Ben Stiller has a good line in embarrassment and chagrin. His chiseled face looks so earnest, so willing to please, and turn incredulous as the world conspires against him..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (10/06/2000)
Quotations
"Be nice to this one, okay? I really like him."--Pam (Teri Polo) to her father, Jack (Robert De Niro)
"Okay, I'll try."--Jack
"The dog is an emotionally shallow animal."--Jack to Greg (Ben Stiller), regarding the superiority of cats over dogs
"See, Greg, if you yell at a dog, his ears will go down and his tail will cover his genitals even if he's done nothing wrong. It's very easy to break a dog. But cats make you work for their affection. Cats don't sell out like dogs do."--Jack to Greg
"I had no idea you could milk a cat."--Dina (Blythe Danner) to Greg
"I'm a patient man. That's what nineteen months in a POW camp will do to you. If I think you're trying to corrupt my firstborn child in any way, I will bring you down, baby! I will bring you down to Chinatown!"--Jack to Greg
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