Meet the Fockers

Meet the Fockers is a swell comedy with sick and crude humor! And, appropriately enough, it works uproariously well.

This sequel to the hit Meet the Parents brings back the unfortunately named fellow Gaylord Focker (which he hides under his Greg nickname) and his miserable exploits as he tries to win the approval of his fiancée’s father, the paranoid ex-CIA Jack Byrnes.

The comedy is a study on the disparate lifestyles between Greg’s liberal and oversexed parents and the uptight and conservative Jack.

Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) is now a doting grandpa and he travels with his entire family on his brand-new RV to sunny Florida to meet Greg’s parents purposely to discuss the matter of his daughter Pam’s (Teri Polo) marriage to Greg (Ben Stiller). But as soon as they land on Focker Isle (the family estate), they are introduced to an eccentric couple who would put to shame any man wanting to impress his in-laws.

Barbra Streisand is Rose, a liberated sex therapist for geriatrics and Dustin Hoffman is Bernie, a stay-at-home husband who loves the brazilian kung fu.

The spin on the apparent conflicting lifestyles set the stage for outrageous situations. As Greg anxiously coax his parents to mellow down their loud antics, Jack is doing his own investigations into the family and Greg’s unrevealed past.

The casting of Streisand, Hoffman and De Niro together is a huge coup. Their mere presence elevates the movie’s entertainment value to a higher level and the viewer is left full and yet feels like that cute toddler little Jack, still hungry for milk and for those fake bosoms.

Most of the old cast is back. The hysterical stewardess is back but has turned nicer. Even, Kevin, the bitter, ex-beau is back and this time he would take an important role in the movie’s biggest highlight. Watch out also for bosomy Isabel, Greg’s former nanny, who provides some of the funniest scenes in the movie.

This is a movie that doesn’t require much of the audience. It just presents itself as it is - no pretensions whatsoever. When we meet Rose Focker, we almost feel like we know her and we warm up to her immediately. That in essence is what the movie is about. We feel we see people we are familiar with, doing acts we hesitate doing personally but delight in seeing done onscreen.