Meet The Parents

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> The circle of trust</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Jack Byrnes: Robert De Niro</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Dina Byrnes: Blythe Danner</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Greg Focker: Ben Stiller</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Pam Byrnes: Teri Polo</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Linda Banks: Phyllis George</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Larry Banks: James Rebhorn</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Kevin: Owen Wilson</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Jay Roach</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: The male half of an unmarried couple meets the overbearing parents of his girl friend, just prior to her sister's wedding. He finds it hard to do or say anything right in this very funny comedy.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> In Chicago, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is the live in love of Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo). She is a schoolteacher and he is a nurse. They travel to New York to attend the wedding of her sister and stay with Pam's parents, Jack & Dina (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner). Jack is an overbearing father who only likes Pam's boyfriends <I>after</I> he has driven them away. Her former fiancé, Kevin (Owen Wilson), is now on best buddy terms with Dad. </div> <bR> <div> The depth of humor becomes evident when two events occur. One is when Greg opens a bottle of champagne and the other is when Jack tells Dina that he's not sure he will like Pam's married name if she marries Greg. Her middle name is Martha. Here's a little pop exercise in the review. Say the first, middle and last name of the bride to be and try not to smile. These and other lively moments often have the audience in stitches. </div> <bR> <div> Dina is the perfect wife, mother and potential mother-in-law. She is happy in her existence and while somewhat ditzy, she's not a dummy. Jack points out to Greg the importance of being accepted into the family's "Circle of trust." Greg starts out on shaky ground and then proceeds to dig a deeper hole. The airline delivers the wrong suitcase to Greg from its lost luggage department, and a missing cat that is returned places him outside that circle. Greg's job, should he choose to accept it, is to find a way back into the circle so he can marry the woman he loves.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: I expected that once we got past the set up and initial funny lines, such as, "I'm a mean potential father-in-law," and the "I'm scared of marrying into this family" gags, the plot would bog down. Fortunately, I can say I was wrong, as little sub plots develop that add texture and depth to the relationships. </div> <bR> <div> There are numerous funny scenes in the film that will likely make this a box office hit. The funniest one to me is a fresh update on airline humor. We all know about placing "…your tray table in the upright and locked position."  But before you can get off the plane, you have to get on it. With the jumbo jets and full planes, orderly boarding, by row number, is essential. Near the end of the film, the flight attendant who boards Greg, gives a classic performance in boilerplate politeness and following the rules. Then there is the fare increase for making a change without a Saturday night stay over. Seeing this and reading about all the flight delays almost makes you not want to fly anymore.</div> <bR> <div> My, my, how ironic that I'm writing this review on an airplane at 30,000 feet. I'm on Midwest Express, where coach is almost like first class. Just when I'm ready to complain, I can't. Go figure.</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> PG-13 (sex; drug reference; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2000</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Ben Stiller: <I>Keeping The Faith</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Robert De Niro: <I>Analyze This</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Nicole DeHuff: <I>Debut Film</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Blythe Danner: <I>Forces of Nature</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Teri Polo: <I>Felicity</I>- TV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Jay Roach: <I>Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Owen Wilson: <I>Shanghai Noon</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Nice to know information: Blythe Danner is the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>