Meet the Fockers
2004 · Directed by Jay Roach
Original language: English
- comedy
- romance
The story
Hard-to-crack ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes and his wife Dina head for the warmer climes of Florida to meet the parents of their son-in-law-to-be, Greg Focker. Unlike their happily matched offspring, the future in-laws find themselves in a situation of opposites that definitely do not attract.
What it’s like
Bright, flat Florida daylight over pastel stucco and manicured lawns, with the saturated, slightly overlit look of a mid-2000s studio comedy: sunny interiors, cluttered hippie-inflected rooms against the crisp order of the Byrnes household. Jay Roach frames most scenes in medium two-shots and locked-off wides so the awkward dinners and sideways glances between Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman land on the reaction, and the score is a bouncy, inoffensive comedy-pop bed that rarely pushes past background. The vibe is warm, breezy and gently chaotic, a well-worn comfort watch for a lazy weekend afternoon, a family-holiday evening, or a long flight where you want to laugh without thinking. Its pacing is brisk and sitcom-like, built on escalating mishaps and a steady run of verbal clashes between two fathers who slowly reveal a grudging respect. Its people's arc is a nervous man trying to win over a rigid father-in-law, and a household learning to tolerate its opposite. Intensity is low: some crude sexual humour and innuendo, a few slapstick accidents, mild peril, and no real gore or cruelty. It suits viewers who want broad, good-natured family comedy with a touch of romance.
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