Pretty Focking Funny
MEET THE FOCKERS

RATING: B-

Starring Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Teri Polo and Barbara Striesand. Music by Randy Newman,Screenplay by John Hamberg and James Herzfeld, Directed by Jay Roach.

Rated PG-13, Running Time 119 mins., 1.85 to 1 Academy Standard Aspect Ratio.

I'm gonna be completely blunt: I absolutely hated "Meet the Parents." Sure the film gave me a decent chuckle, here and there, but overall, I though the humor was forced. The film just didn't click with me. I saw the story filled with, forgive the expression, 'dry White humor." What's worse is that I feel Robert DeNiro is better at comedy than drama. In his heyday, DeNiro was a chameleon and the skills he had to transform himself made him a legendary dramatic actor in his own time. But I've always felt DeNiro was in his element when he was able to cut loose in films like "The King of Comedy", "Midnight Run" and even his turn as the villainous Max Cady in "Cape Fear", a suspenseful thriller, but nevertheless a hilarious performance. DeNiro was even hilarious in "Goodfellas" which Martin Scorsese admittedly called a comedy and I agree with him.

That DeNiro we knew is gone because he takes roles for the money and runs, instead of well constructed characters. With the exception of 2001's "The Score" I've been disappointed with DeNiro's films for quite a number of years and have walked out of many of them. I walked out of "Sharks Tale" because DeNiro was so funny and there was little of him in that movie. I'm not saying he should only take comedic roles, just that he excels at them and taking on a project like "Meet the Parents" was a bold choice that proved successful at the box-office.

The problem was that DeNiro played the straight man in that film. That's okay as long as his performance is complimented by a funny man like his "Analyze This" co-star Billy Crystal. For "Meet the Parents" he had Ben Stiller, but with the exception of last summer's "Dodgeball" Stiller is usually the straight man too. Two straight men kills the comedy and it falls flat. "Meet the Fockers" is an incredible treat because the filmmakers have drafted an actor who can travel to extremes within a performance and either be serious or funny. The addition of Dustin Hoffman to the cast looked like an ingenious idea, but Barbara Streisand was the icing on the cake; creating a rewarding comedy that surpasses expectations.

Taking place two years after the events of the original film, Stiller's Gaylord "Greg" Focker is still trying to fit in as a member of the Burns family despite his upcoming nuptials to Teri Polo. Future father-in-law Jack (DeNiro) has been rather patient, but when the family travels down to Florida to meet Greg's parents Hoffman and Streisand, their ideals clash with his own making him unsure "about these Fockers" Playing together for the third time in less than a decade, DeNiro and Hoffman make great use of John Hamberg and James Herzfeld’s richly written dialogue. This is a film about people from two different worlds who have to work out their differences as new in-laws do. Unaware that DeNiro is a former spook, Hoffman gets off to a grand start by criticizing the C.I.A. or C.L.I.A.: Central Lack of Intelligence Agency.

DeNiro has a difficult role, playing the straight man again, but this time he doesn't have to carry the picture. The eccentricity of his character can be quite humorous: driving the family to Florida in a kelvar laced Fleetwood motor-coach that's a hotel on wheels and teaching his new grandson sign language. He has a specific system for everything and that clashes with Hoffman and Streisand's hippie ideals. One example is the fact that DeNiro has devised a prosthetic breast of his daughter's nipple so that little Jack may drink the breast milk that "she pumped for a whole week to give us enough for the trip." DeNiro's method of parenting is the Furber method which is ignoring a whining infant so that they may self soothe and learn to be independent. Streisand relies on the "Focker" method which involves, love and all the attention a baby needs. "We Fockerize em!"

Caught in the middle are Polo, her mother Blythe Danner and importantly Stiller who has to endure constant embarrassment over his parents' openness and antics. They're open about everything in their lives and proud to tell stories of how Stiller lost his virginity to the housekeeper or the display that Hoffman has just proudly erected featuring tenth place trophies from his son's childhood dubbed "the wall of Gaylord." Even their noisy antics in the bedroom that involve Hoffman role playing a carpet cleaner and offering Streisand "some foam on your carpet" are embarrassing to Stiller, but utterly hilarious. Then there's the fact that Hoffman, the ever proud papa, considers Stiller "a young Jewish Marlon Brando". "Can you believe I conceived him with one testicle?" he tells his new in-laws, "The other one never dropped, it's true. It's called an undecending testicle. Can you imagine what he'd look like if I had two?"

To make matters worse Streisand and Hoffman have saved Stiller's foreskin in a family scrap book. It's only a small piece since the rabbi mistakenly gave Stiller a "semi-circ" leaving him with something that's "a cross between an anteater and a German army helmet." Just the type of information any young man would want his future in-laws to hear, right? Since the Fockers live on a island with limited water supply, their new guests must abide by a specific method when it comes to the toilet." Hoffman explains, "We all abide by the rule if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down. Whoops! Forgot my own rule."

All of this is enough to make the conservative DeNiro blow his top and the embarrassed Stiller weep. He feels that when Stiller’s family circle joins his, they’ll have a chain. “I can’t have a chink im y chain.” Still DeNiro tries to stick it out for the good of the family and warms up slightly when Hoffman makes him a tasty Tom Collins drink. What's Hoffman's secret for a perfect cocktail?

-Hoffman: Well, the secret is I used real lemon juice from our trees."
-Streisand: "He was milking all afternoon!
-Hoffman: "Yeah, and Jack, I managed to make some lemon juice as well.

Making matters even worse for DeNiro is the fact that Streisand is a physical sex therapist and she can openly see that he's been neglecting wife Blythe Danner. Hoffman and Striesand show no signs of slowing down with their love life since she feels "I married a teenager!" to which he replies "I gave her a matinee this afternoon, how about a double feature?" Sounds like things couldn't get any more uncomfortable for DeNiro or embarrassing for Stiller, but they do and to hilarious effect. DeNiro will encounter more trouble and meet other Focker relatives that include cousins Dom, Randy and Orny. He'll even suspect Stiller of hiding dark secrets from his daughter and even resort to the same method he used on her Junior prom date to find the truth: sodium penathol!

DeNiro has the toughest role, but watching his frustration and the tensions build within are hysterical. He's a stiff, he's a square and a prude and witnessing the loving openness amongst the Focker family is strong enough to make him terrified for his daughter's future. It's also pretty "Focking" funny and the actor hasn't been this funny in years.

Stiller's role is no easy task as well, since he has the difficulty of playing the mediator. He'll attempt to impress DeNiro on several occasions, but will either embarrass himself further or endanger his future nephew with the threat of foul language and an unsupervised showing of "Scarface" on television. The weight of the film is carried on the shoulders of Hoffman and Streisand and they do it effortlessly, giving the entire series a much needed shot in the arm. Hoffman's been in this territory before and his glee and enthusiasm are just so warm and infectious. Streisand, who could probably tell infinite stories about her own neuroses, plays a character that's completely the opposite of what she's notorious for. The role fits her like a glove. Her hippie wardrobe, laid-back demeanor and presence make her not just a warm and inviting character, but a surprisingly sexy one as well.

"Meet the Fockers" is not only one of the funniest films of the year, but a staple in the careers of its four leads. Many of the film administrations that award performances often overlook comedies(Cary Grant never won an Oscar) and I think it would be a crime if these actors were not properly recognized for the difficulties of what they've achieved. It aint easy being funny and although they've had the gift of a good screenwriter and wonderful direction by Jay Roach, without the talent of these actors this film would be pretty "Focking" lame.