Meet the Parents-What The Hell is With This Randy Newman S**T?!
Meet the Parents, while at its core is formulaic, works due to the fact that it taps into that universal fear all humans have of meeting the parents of their significant other. Once one gives this some thought it becomes evident that this is one of those unique events/facts of reality that transcend nearly all cultural, religious and even temporal boundaries. This base fear is truly universal and has spawned many a great story both in popular culture and at the local bar.
The story centers around Greg played by Ben Stiller who is a male nurse that is meeting his future in-laws to be for the first time. Robert De Niro (Jack) is in rare form as the insane ex-intelligence operative father of the would be bride. Numerous situational comedy moments unfold as Jack hopes to prevent Greg from taking the relationship with his daughter any further.
Overall the script is well paced and intelligent which it needed to overcome the incredibly persistent plague that is Randy Newman. Once again the world is subjected to Newman’s “musical stylings.” But there is enough laughs to be had in the script to overlook this poor judgement on the parts of the producers.
In terms of acting, all the major parts are played quite well. Stiller and De Niro have good chemistry and Owen Wilson decides to act a little and finally tosses out a decent performance where he is a character who is slightly different than Owen Wilson for a change. Thus, the solid acting performance greatly assist the solid script in contributing to make Meet the Parents an enjoyable time.
That said, I must say that when I finally got around to seeing the film I was left feeling that it was somewhat overrated by the masses of people shouting that it was a must see. In this simple fact is a lesson. Since the film taps into such a universal fear, namely meeting the parents, the filmmakers have a much easier job in prodding the audience into identifying with the characters and the premise. It short, this universal truth makes the film more of both a personal and a communal experience. In fact, the film was successful in making me relieve some of my own horrible “meeting of the parents” experiences. In retrospect, Meet the Parents, struck such a large cord with audiences that I am left wondering why it was not more successful than its $300 million plus take.
Credit is deserved all the way around on Meet the Parents, as the producers, director and talent all did a fine job in delivering a fun piece of escapist fun. The film attaches itself, almost in a leech like fashion, to our collective fear of meeting the parents for the first time. Speaking of leeches is it really necessary to continue cutting Randy Newman paychecks. Can’t anyone else record a song in Hollywood?
Story B
Acting B
Visuals C+
Originality/Innovation C+
Enjoyability Grade B+
Home Theater/HD Factor B
Overall Grade B+ (Somewhat overrated but still a fun time. If you are looking for a somewhat mindless comedy then this is a good bet.)
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